Apple removes a gay dating app from its online store in Russia

The technology company Apple has removed from its online store in Russia a dating app for same-sex people, reported the specialized portal Chicos Plus. The application, which was removed at the request of the Russian communications regulator Roscomnadzor, is Hornet, which has nearly 25 million users worldwide, without any data about its audience in this country being known. In September 2023, after the entry into force of a law against homosexual propaganda in Russia, Roscomnadzor blocked the Hornet website.

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Since then, its users were also experiencing problems connecting to the dating app, for which they had to use VPN services, commonly used by internet users to bypass the ban on access to some pages and social networks. Apple has previously explained that it has to comply with some requirements of Russian legislation in order to distribute its content in this country. In November 2023, the Russian Supreme Court banned the international LGBT movement, considering it an ‘extremist organization’, after which the Russian authorities launched a crackdown on any indication of non-traditional relationships. A year earlier, in November 2022, the Duma (State Duma) had already approved a law that completely prohibited LGBT propaganda, as well as pedophilia and sex change. Furthermore, in June 2023, sex reassignment surgeries were banned, causing great alarm among the transgender community. In recent months, Russian authorities have sanctioned bookstore chains for finding titles that promoted gay relationships, banning lists of works and authors.