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Apple charged with ‘LGBT propaganda’ in Russia for rainbow flag wallpaper in latest update

A court in Moscow has begun hearing a civil case brought by Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor against US tech giant Apple for spreading “LGBT propaganda”, according to information published on the Tagansky District Court’s website on Tuesday. Though the basis of the civil case was not specified in the court documents, Apple Distribution International Ltd., the main shareholder in Apple Rus, Apple’s Russian subsidiary, was named as the defendant. If found guilty, the company could face a fine of up to 4 million rubles (€42,400). Telegram channel Baza, which is close to the security forces, said the case is likely to have arisen from Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor objecting to Apple using wallpaper in the colours of the rainbow flag, an LGBT symbol, in the latest iOS18 update. Apple created the wallpaper in honour of Pride Month, which will run throughout June. The company’s first bitten apple logo, designed in 1977, was in the colours of the rainbow.

NewsSociety Women talk in front of a window with the Apple company logo and the inscription Repair in Moscow, Russia, 06 September 2023. Telegram channel Baza, which is close to the security forces, said the case is likely to have arisen from Russia’s media regulator Roskomnadzor objecting to Apple using wallpaper in the colours of the rainbow flag, an LGBT symbol, in the latest iOS18 update. Apple continues to prosper in Russia, despite Western sanctions, thanks to indirect imports of iPhones, sales of which constituted 12% of the Russian smartphone market last year.

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