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Olga Baranets, the “public commissioner for the protection of the family,” accused the American streaming giant Netflix of violating the 2013 Russian law regarding what the Russian government deems “gay propaganda.”
In a formal complaint filed with the Russian Interior Ministry, Baranets, a resident of Moscow, alleged that Netflix was violating the law’s provisions that prohibit “propaganda on nontraditional sexual relations among Russians under the age of 18” when Netflix broadcast LGBTQ-themed shows with a 16+ label.
A source for the Russian Interior Ministry told the Blade Nov. 28 that it is investigating the matter. The law requires that there is a 30-day deadline for responding to such inquiries, Baranets sent her complaint to the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Nov. 10.
A person familiar with the Russian government probe and Baranets’ complaint but not authorized to speak to the media at Netflix’s European headquarters in Amsterdam said that it was doubtful the company violated the tenets of the so-called “gay propaganda” law. The source added that the company had found no series and films about the lives of LGBTQs with a 16+ label when it checked earlier this month that would have been available in the Russian Federation.
Netflix’s “colorful collection of films and TV series tells about the lives of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people,” Baranets told Vedomosti, a Russian-language business daily newspaper, which first reported the story.
Vedomosti noted that should Netflix be found guilty of violating the law it could face a fine of up to $1 million rubles, ($11,844.48 Euros)-($13,400 USD) or a temporary suspension of its service for 90 days.
The Moscow Times reported that earlier this month, a Moscow court fined Russia’s Muz-TV music video channel 1 million rubles ($14,000) after its awards show featured gender-flipping stars and what viewers said resembled a same-sex wedding.
The Russian internet watchdog agency Roskomnadzor, the state media and communications regulator, has stepped up its efforts to implement sweeping bans of so-called “perverted” television shows and movies on all streaming platforms in addition to the complaints about Netflix.
Officials are also working with Vitaly Milanov, deputy chairman of the Committee on Family Affairs, Women and Children in the Russian State Duma (Parliament), to sponsor legislation that would make changes to three laws that regulate media, regulate the protection of children from harmful content and banning displays of “gay propaganda” toward Russians under the age of 18.
Interviewed by RIA Novosti, the state-controlled news agency last week, Milanov told the news outlet that “Russian citizens don’t want such content to be broadcast widely.” He then added that “the legal solution to this situation is just around the corner. Whoever wants can have special access to such videos as well as with pornography.”
The English language Moscow Times reported that Russian film distributors in recent years have edited LGBTQ sex scenes and characters from movies before they were shown in theaters. Roskomnadzor’s proposed rules would for the first time affect online streaming and could lead to movies like “50 Shades of Grey” and shows like “Billions” being blocked by Russian internet providers.
Milanov has long been a fierce opponent of the LGBTQ community. Legislation authored by him while an elected official in St. Petersburg was later the boiler-plate model for the national 2013 “gay propaganda” law. This past August he stated that LGBTQ people are the “lowest stage of development of the animal world” and should be “sterilized” as stray cats are.
Part of the political pressure to further restrict LGBTQ equality stems from anti-LGBTQ remarks made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a speech he made in October in Sochi.
The Russian president accused “monstrous” Western countries of forcing “transgenderism” onto children.
“We’re surprised to see things happening in countries that see themselves as flagships of progress … The struggle for equality and against discrimination turns into aggressive dogmatism verging on absurdity,” Putin said. “People who dare to say that men and women still exist as a biological fact are almost ostracized … Not to mention the simply monstrous fact that children today are taught from a young age that a boy can easily become a girl and vice versa.”
He continued, “Let’s call a spade a spade: This simply verges on crimes against humanity under the banner of progress.”
Roskomnadzor head Andrei Lipov reportedly cited Putin’s Sochi speech as justification for the proposed streaming bans.
