Russia is looking into whether
Facebook's gay emojis violate the nation's laws against promoting
“gay propaganda” to minors.
According to Time,
Russia's state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, opened a probe into the
matter after Mikhail Marchenko, a senator in Russia's upper house of
parliament, filed a complaint with the agency.
“These emojis of non-traditional
sexual orientation are seen by all users of the social network, a
large portion of whom are minors,” Marchenko said in his complaint.
“But propaganda of homosexuality is banned under the laws and
under the pillars of tradition that exist here in our country.”
The agency has the power to impose
fines against websites found to be violating the 2013 law and block
Russians from accessing those websites.
Facebook's emojis first appeared in
2013 after the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and were updated in June after the
high court struck down gay marriage bans in all 50 states. Some
include same-sex couples blowing kisses.