Duolingo sent a letter to Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor, the watchdog confirmed in a statement, saying it had “removed all materials promoting non-traditional sexual relationships”, Russia state-cobtrolled Tass reported.
The decision came after Roskomnadzor confirmed it would check Duolingo for “LGBT propaganda” in February after a request from Radetel, a self-described “traditional values” advocacy group that found “same-sex dialogue” in the app’s lessons.
Following Radetel’s request, the head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, Alexander Khinshtein, threatened to block Duolingo in Russia, adding that Duolingo should “immediately deal with this unpleasant problem”.
Duolingo’s removal of LGBT content is only the latest example of Russia’s continued censorship of the LGBT community, prompted by legislation providing for fines of up to 4 million rubles for disseminating so-called “LGBT propaganda”.
In November 2023, Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that the “international LGBT movement” qualified as an “extremist organisation”, effectively banning it and making pro-LGBT activity punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
If you are found to distribute "LGBT propaganda” by a Russian court, you can end up in prison for 15 years.