Russia Fines TikTok, Amazon's Twitch For LGBT Propaganda, Refusal To Remove Content On 'Special Operation In Ukraine'

A Russian court fined Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)-owned Twitch streaming service and Chinese short-video app TikTok for not adhering to censorship regulations, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Tuesday.

What Happened: Twitch Interactive video streaming service and Wikimedia Foundation face a fine of up to 4 million rubles each for refusal to remove an interview with a Ukrainian political figure, reasoning that it carried "false information about the special operation in Ukraine."

Separately, the World Court of the Tagansky District of Moscow fined TikTok 3 million rubles for not removing prohibited content with LGBT propaganda among minors, another Interfax report said.

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A representative of TikTok, owned by ByteDance, demanded in court that the proceedings be stopped.

The charges against TikTok were based on communications regulator Roskomnadzor's diktat against the promotion of non-traditional sexual values, LGTB-themed videos, feminism and a distorted presentation of traditional sexual values, the Russian news agency said.

Why It’s Important: Since 2021, big tech companies have faced the ire of Russian authorities for refusing to remove content prohibited in the nation, Interfax said.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google have thus far coughed up fines of about 2 billion rubles and 28.9 billion rubles, respectively, for flouting censorship norms, it added.

Meta is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia and banned, the report said.