JAKARTA The Russian court has again imposed a fine on Apple, this time amounting to 131,000 US dollars (approximately Rp2.1 billion), on charges of violating Russian laws related to what they refer to as "LGBT propaganda." The fine is equivalent to approximately two seconds of Apple's gain, given the company's enormous profit.
The verdict was handed down by the Tagansky District Court in Moscow. According to Mediazone's independent news site report, the initial fine was 93,500 US dollars for three separate violations of Russia's anti-LGBT law. However, as the trial progressed, a fourth indictment arose regarding Apple's failure to remove content as requested by Russian authorities, which was then added a fine of 37,400 US dollars.
The trial took place behind closed doors at the request of Apple's attorney, Elenactionverikova, on the grounds that classified information from the company could emerge. Judge Alexandra Anokhina agreed to the request, so that no details were disclosed to the public regarding allegations of "LGBT propaganda" or requested content to be removed.
When the press was finally allowed back in to hear the verdict, the judge read it out so quickly that journalists did not have time to record it. When asked for an official copy of the verdict, the court spokesman only replied that the trial was closed.
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Earlier in 2023, Apple was also fined $42,000 by Russian courts for spreading "false information" about the Ukraine conflict. At that time, Apple News only contained news reports acknowledging the existence of the conflict which was deemed to have violated pro-Kremlin's Russian law.
Russia has officially considered the "international movement of LGBT" as an extremist organization. Since 2023, the Russian Supreme Court has banned the movement and included it on the list of terrorist and banned organizations.
Russia's anti-LGBT attitude is nothing new. In 2018, the Russian government forced Apple to block the appearance of Apple Watch with the theme Pride. In 2019, an absurd case emerged in which a Russian man sued Apple for claiming the app on the App Store made him gay he demanded compensation of 15,000 US dollars, although there was no record of the outcome of the lawsuit.
This event adds to the long list of legal and political pressures against Western tech companies operating in Russia.
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