Russian court fines Tik Tok over content which ‘distorted view on traditional sexual relations’

A court in Russia has fined TikTok for failing to delete online LGBT+ material.

Moscow’s Tagansky District Court issued a three million ruble (£44,000) penalty to the video sharing platform after it received a complaint from Russian regulators.

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

The Russian government has been increasing efforts to enforce more and more control over internet and social media in the country.

And President Vladimir Putin last week, in a speech to announce the annexation of regions in Ukraine, said that Russia would uphold “traditional values”.

“Unlike the West, the Russian people will never give up their love for the country, faith and traditional values,” he told a huge crowd in Moscow.

Also today, a Russian court has fined Amazon-owned streaming service, Twitch, four million roubles ($68,000) for failing to take down an interview with a Ukrainian political figure, according to reporting from the Interfax news agency.

Russian authorities said that the interview violated laws on the dissemination of false information.

Earlier this year, the messaging service WhatsApp was fined by a Russian court.

Social messaging platform Snapchat was also fined for failing to store Russian users’ data on local servers, following complaints by Roskomnadzor.

Meanwhile, streaming service Spotify and Match Group, which owns the dating app Tinder, also have also received Russian fines.

The Independent have contacted TikTok - owned by China’s ByteDance - for comment.