Russia’s stance on gay rights has always been a little awkward, but this latest story is thumbs-down angry-face.
The Russian state-owned communications watchdog is deliberating over whether homosexual emojis on Facebook violate Russian law.
The country has very strict laws that prohibit promoting homosexuality, specifically a controversial 2013 law that forbids “homosexual propaganda” among minors.
Facebook currently has a series of ‘Pride’ emojis that first appeared after the US Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.
Apple also revealed ‘gay-friendly’ emoji with iOS 8.3 back in April.
Apple emoji iOS 8.3
The update included yellow emoji blobs that appear to be the same gender making kissy faces – an unmistakable sign of the end times, we’re sure.
“These emojis of non-traditional sexual orientation are seen by all users of the social network, a large portion of whom are minors,” said Russian senator Mikhail Marchenko, a prominent supporter of anti-gay legislation, as reported by Time.
He continued: “But propaganda of homosexuality is banned under the laws and under the pillars of tradition that exist here in our country.”
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Russia’s Federal Service For Supervision of Communication, Information Technology and Mass Media – a.k.a Roskomnadzor – has the ability to block citizens from accessing websites that promote homosexuality among minors.
Roskomnadzor can also impose fines on websites that don’t cooperate with Russia’s draconian legislation.
There is no immediate deadline for the probe.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.