Google Fined $50 Million for Hosting LGBTQ Content
A Russian court fined Google $50 million for refusing to remove LGBTQ content on YouTube.
A Russian court fined technology giant Google 4.6 billion rubles ($50.4 million) for refusing to comply with the government’s demand to take down “disinformation” about the Ukraine war and for hosting LGBTQ content on YouTube, in violation of the country’s ban on “LGBT propaganda.”
Moscow’s Tagansky Court ruled against Google, finding that YouTube refused repeated demands to remove LGBTQ-related content and allegedly “fake” content about the “special military operation,” which is how the government refers to its illegal invasion of Ukraine and the resulting war between the two countries, reports Forbes.
Prosecutors had claimed that the YouTube videos “spread LGBT values” and sought to convince “minors to commit illegal actions,” according to Russia’s state-owned news agency RIA Novosti.
It is unclear what is meant by the “illegal actions” that the videos are encouraging minors to engage in, although similar language has been used to rail against transgender visibility on the grounds that it will encourage minors to identify as transgender or pursue gender transitions.
The fine is the steepest one levied against the search engine in Russia for violating its law prohibiting the spread of “LGBT propaganda.”
Last month, the country’s Supreme Court deemed the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an “extremist” organization, prompting crackdowns by local police on LGBTQ venues or advocacy organizations. Under Russian law, anyone participating in or financing an “extremist” organization, including any LGBTQ advocacy groups, can be prosecuted and jailed for up to 12 years.
The Russian government, led by President Vladimir Putin, adopted a law in 2013 that prohibits the spread of “propaganda” related to “nontraditional sexual relations,” or any information that paints LGBTQ identity in a positive or neutral light, among minors. In 2022, the law was expanded to apply to all citizens, including adults.
That update effectively outlawed public expression of LGBTQ identity, even targeting depictions of homosexuality or gender identity on television, online, and in various forms of media. The government subsequently fined Google 3 million rubles, or $39,000 for failing to remove YouTube videos with LGBTQ content, thereby violating the ban, back in May.
The Russian government also passed a law earlier this year prohibiting the spread of information about gender transitions or gender-affirming care for transgender people, which resulted in at least one transgender blogger being prosecuted for sharing personal information about her transition.
Since invading Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has also enacted various measures to punish anyone who criticizes or speaks out against its military campaign, and has sought to censor any information about the war regarding setbacks for Russian forces, or that does not portray the Russian campaign as justified and legitimate.
Russia has previously fined Google billions of rubles for hosting information about the Russian military, imposing a fine of 7.2 billion rubles, or $79 million, in 2021 and a fine of 21.7 billion rubles, or $238 million, in 2022. In response, Google pulled all of its employees out of the country, according to the Wall Street Journal.
While YouTube has been targeted by the government for videos containing what the government views as “misinformation” or banned content, the platform has not been blocked in the country.
However, other platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, have been blocked over similar concerns about disseminating information that runs counter to the government’s preferred narrative.
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