A Russian court has fined U.S. tech company Apple 7.5 million roubles (approximately $93,500 USD) for three separate violations of Russian laws concerning what Moscow terms LGBT “propaganda,” according to the Moscow courts’ press office on Monday.
In 2023, Russia expanded restrictions on the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” as part of a broader crackdown on LGBT rights. President Vladimir Putin has presented this crackdown as evidence of moral decline in Western nations.
Moscow’s Tagansky Court found Apple Distribution International Ltd. guilty of three administrative offenses, issuing three fines of 2.5 million roubles each.
Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Mediazona news outlet reported that Apple’s representative in court requested closed hearings, obscuring the specifics of each dispute.
Russia has designated the “international LGBT movement” as extremist and its supporters as terrorists, potentially leading to severe criminal charges against LGBT individuals and advocates.
Russian courts have previously fined online film distributors and executives for violating the “LGBT propaganda” law.
