Russian court fines TikTok for not deleting LGBT content

(AP) — A Russian court on Tuesday fined TikTok for failing to delete LGBT material, the country's latest crackdown on Big Tech companies.

The Tagansky District Court in Moscow issued the 3 million rubles ($50,000) penalty to the short-video sharing platform following a complaint by Russian regulators.

TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance Ltd., didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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

The Russian government has been stepping up efforts to enforce greater control over the internet and social media.

Earlier this year, a court fined chat service WhatsApp and disappearing message platform Snapchat for failing to store Russian users’ data on local servers, following complaints by Roskomnadzor.

Music streaming service Spotify and Match Group, which owns dating app Tinder, also have been hit by Russian fines.

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