Russia fines Discord over LGBT propaganda

A Moscow court has fined the Discord messenger for 3.5 million rubles (approximately $36,233) over two episodes, related to online propaganda of LGBT relations.

"During the monitoring of the Discord social platform on July 8 and July 11, 2024, the Roskomnadzor [Russia’s communications watchdog] registered the facts of non-restriction of access to illegal information promoting non-traditional sexual relations, pedophilia, and gender reassignment, published online, by the platform’s owner," said the court ruling, News.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Previously, the media reported that the court fined Discord for 3.5 million rubles for violation of the law on self-moderation. However, the reason for this decision was not disclosed.

This offense carries the maximum fine of up to 4 million rubles for legal entities.

In February, 2021, Russia passed a law on self-moderation of social platforms, which obliges such platforms to detect and block illegal content on their own.

Discord is a messenger that supports VoIP and video conference functionality, intended for use of various enthusiast communities.

News.Az