Russian Government Fines TikTok For Promoting LGBT Content And Twitch Interviewing Ukrainian Figures

Twitch was hit by a Russian fine for interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. (photo: twitter @ZelenskyyUa)

JAKARTA - Russia on Tuesday, October 4 fined TikTok for failing to remove content that violates Russian laws on 'LGBT propaganda'. It also penalized streaming service Twitch for hosting a video interview with a Ukrainian political figure that Moscow said contained "false" information.

The two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters on the fine. Interfax also reported that TikTok representatives in the courtroom insisted the proceedings had been terminated, without providing further details.

The fine marks the latest step in Moscow's longstanding dispute with Big Tech, over content penalties, demands for data retention and several outright bans.

According to Moscow's Tagansky District Court, TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based IT company ByteDance, was fined 3 million rubles (IDR 780 million).

Interfax, also reported that the case against TikTok was based on allegations that the company "promotes non-traditional values, LGBT, feminism and representations that deviate from traditional sexual values" on its platform.

Russia is considering expanding its existing "gay propaganda" law, passed in 2013, which prohibits any person or entity from promoting homosexual relations to children.

Lawmakers argue the law should be expanded to cover adults as well and fines for exposing minors to "LGBT propaganda" should be increased.

Russian authorities say they are defending morality in the face of what they perceive to be non-Russian liberal values ​​promoted by the West. But human rights activists say the law has been widely applied to intimidate Russia's LGBT community.

Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, was fined 4 million rubles (IDR 1 billion). Interfax also said the case was created in response to Twitch holding interviews with Oleksiy Arestovych, and an adviser to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Previously, Twitch was fined 3 million rubles earlier this year for hosting another Arestovych interview.

Russia passed a law in early March, soon after sending tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine, which prohibits "discrediting" the armed forces, with sentences of up to 15 years. Foreign technology companies have been warned against violating the law.

Meanwhile TASS reported last Tuesday that Twitch faces two new fines of up to 8 million rubles for not removing what Russia considers unreliable information about the course of a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Separately, the Wikimedia Foundation, which houses the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, also faces a fine of 4 million rubles for not removing content the Kremlin called "fake" about Russian soldiers.