A Russian court has ruled against Apple, imposing a 6 million roubles (approximately $77,000) fine on the company on the claims of breaking the Russian LGBT “propaganda” law. The penalty was in two rulings, with each imposing a fine of 3 million roubles. This comes after a previous punishment of 7.5 million roubles that Apple received in May, and the total punishment of the company reaches above 13 million roubles in 2025 alone.
The laws against LGBT content in Russia have gone a notch higher following changes to the law in late 2022. Originally designed to safeguard minors against being exposed to the concept of non-traditional sexual relations, the new version targets all ages and outlaws any content that can be seen as encouraging or normalizing the LGBT identities. The law has been applied to pursue local residents as well as international businesses.
In the case of Apple, the company was alleged to have hosted the content on its App Store and other digital platforms that the Russian authorities alleged to have contained materials of LGBT nature, which they considered promotional. Court reports did not specify what exactly in their content prompted the fines but historic examples of such cases have mentioned items such as rainbow emojis, pride-themed wallpapers and applications with inclusive messaging.
Apple is yet to issue any public response to the rulings. The company has in the past supported inclusivity and LGBT rights in other markets worldwide, and the fines suggest that the company might be compromised to follow the Russian laws to continue operating in the market. The compliance may include contents blockage or modification of the available media to Russian users.
The human right organizations across the globe have been concerned about the increased crackdown on the LGBT rights by the Russian government. The last several months have seen the banning of books that contain LGBT characters, the taking down of public pride symbols, and the designation of organizations that help LGBT communities as extremists.
To international technology companies such as Apple, the development in Russia poses a serious dilemma: either comply with the local legislation that goes against international principles, or face a fine and limited market opportunities. The growing trend in use of legal mechanism to muzzle social expression in Russia is rendering doing business in the country, an intricate ethical and strategic quandary to international businesses.
