Russian Gay Site Almost Shut Down
A complaint was made about Gay.Ru in an effort to shut it down for fear of it 'promoting a gay lifestyle' to children
A gay Russian news site has escaped being shut down and an extreme fine.
Complaints were made to media regulator Roskomnadzor about Gay.Ru, with one claiming the web portal violates the federal law banning gay propaganda.
But due to the site having a clear sign saying it is for adults only, the regulator said it was not breaking the law.
It is a lucky escape, as media organizations can be shut down and fined one million rubles ($30,300, €22,500).
But for founder Ed Mishin, he says Gay.Ru could be shut down at any moment.
‘I cannot do anything about it, I can only wait and hope that it won’t be shut down for any reason,’ he told Gay Star News.
Mishin said he was surprised the 18+ mark made a difference, and suggested it might protect him for now.
‘As I said the content is quite normal, we’re just a news site,’ he added.
‘We promote being gay in a positive way, but I hope they do not shut us down because of this.
‘If they start shutting down all websites that talk about being gay in a positive way, then they will have to shut down a hundred or a thousand of them.’
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