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

A Russian court fined Amazon Inc. 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. META and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG 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.