Twitch Fined by Russia for Hosting Ukraine Video, TikTok Faces Fine Over 'LGBT Propaganda'

TikTok was fined RUB 3 million (roughly 40 lakh) while Twitch must pay a RUB 4 million (roughly Rs. 55 lakh) fine.

By Reuters | Updated: 5 October 2022 11:31 IST

Twitch Fined by Russia for Hosting Ukraine Video, TikTok Faces Fine Over 'LGBT Propaganda'

Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Folen Feyissa

Russia prohibits "discrediting" the armed forces

Highlights

Twitch must pay a RUB 4 million (roughly Rs. 55 lakh) fine
TikTok was fined RUB 3 million (roughly 40 lakh)
Twitch also faces two other fines in Russia

Russia on Tuesday fined TikTok for failing to delete content that violates Russian laws on 'LGBT propaganda' and streaming service Twitch for hosting a video interview with a Ukrainian political figure that Moscow said contained 'fake' information.

Neither company immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment. Interfax reported that a TikTok representative in the courtroom had insisted the proceedings be terminated, without giving further details.

The fines mark the latest step in Moscow's long-running dispute with Big Tech, with penalties over content, demands over data storage and some outright bans.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based IT company ByteDance, was fined RUB 3 million (roughly Rs. 42 lakh), Moscow's Tagansky District Court said.

News agencies reported that the case against TikTok was based on accusations that the company was "promoting non-traditional values, LGBT, feminism and a distorted representation of traditional sexual values" on its platform.

Twitch, owned by Amazon, was fined 4 million roubles (roughly Rs. 70 lakh), the court said. News agencies said the case had been drawn up in response to Twitch hosting an interview with Oleksiy Arestovych, and adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Twitch was fined RUB 3 million (roughly Rs. 70 lakh) earlier this year for hosting another Arestovych interview.

Russia passed a law in early March, soon after sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, that prohibits "discrediting" the armed forces, with a sentence of up to 15 years. Foreign tech firms have been warned against violating that law.

TASS reported on Tuesday that Twitch faces two new fines of up to RUB 8 million (roughly Rs. 1.2 crore) for not deleting what Russia considers unreliable information about the course of its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Russia's 'LGBT propaganda' law

Russia is considering expanding its existing "gay propaganda" law, passed in 2013, which bans any person or entity from promoting homosexual relationships to children. Lawmakers have argued the law should be expanded to include 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 argue are un-Russian liberal values promoted by the West, but human rights activists say the law has been broadly applied to intimidate Russia's LGBT community.

Separately, the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts online encyclopedia Wikipedia, also faces a RUB 4 million (roughly Rs. 56 lakh) fine for not deleting "fakes" about the Russian army, RIA reported.

What do we know about the upcoming Pixel 7 and 7 Pro? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.