Apple fined by Russian court over ‘LGBT propaganda’

Apple has been fined by a court in Russia over “LGBT propaganda”, according to reports.

The court fined Apple 10.5 million roubles (£97,000) in four separate administrative cases, three of which breached Russian rules on “LGBT propaganda”, as per Reuters. The country’s anti-LGBTQ+ law, which effectively criminalises all forms of LGBTQ+ activism, came into effect in January 2024.  

Tagansky Court in Moscow found Apple Distribution International Ltd guilty of three administrative offences relating to “LGBT propaganda”, and ordered three fines of 2.5 million roubles (£70,000 altogether). The fourth fine of 3 million roubles (£28,000) was issued for Apple allegedly failing to restrict users access to online content which is illegal in Moscow.

Apple’s legal representative requested that the hearings be closed to the public, as per the outlet Mediazona, so the cause of each dispute is unknown. Apple is yet to comment on the cases.

It follows a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia under its anti-propaganda law which has led to bar staff and venue owners being jailed, more than 50 club-goers being detained, language-learning app Duolingo being forced to remove inclusive content, children’s cartoon My Little Pony being labelled 18+ and a gay student expelled from university for posting make-up videos.

In January, man was fined for joking that he ‘started’ the international LGBTQ+ rights movement whilst a month earlier, in December, another man who was accused of running an LGBTQ+ travel agency was found dead in his cell.

A February report also claims that the country is “creating a database of LGBTQ+ citizens” to register and track LGBTQ+ people who are defined as members of the “the international LGBT movement”, which was labelled as “extremist” by the Russian government in 2023.

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