Russia

Russian Court Fines TikTok $50,000 for Not Deleting LGBTQ Content

The ruling is the latest effort by the Russian government to enforce content on the internet and social media

A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stands at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022.
(AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

A Russian court on Tuesday fined TikTok for failing to delete LGBTQ material, the country's latest crackdown on Big Tech companies.

The Tagansky District Court in Moscow issued the 3 million ruble ($50,000) penalty to the short-video sharing platform following a complaint by Russian regulators.

TikTok, which is owned by Chinaโ€™s ByteDance Ltd., didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the case file, state communications regulator Roskomnadzor complained about a video published on the platform earlier this year that breaches Russian laws against promoting "LGBT, radical feminism and a distorted view on traditional sexual relations.โ€

The Russian government has been stepping up efforts to enforce greater control over the internet and social media.

Earlier this year, a court fined chat service WhatsApp and disappearing message platform Snapchat for failing to store Russian usersโ€™ data on local servers, following complaints by Roskomnadzor.

Music streaming service Spotify and Match Group, which owns dating app Tinder, also have been hit by Russian fines.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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