Discord ordered to remove 1,000 posts containing ‘illegal materials’

Roskomnadzor, Russia’s communication regulator, gave instant messaging platform Discord the order to delete 947 posts containing ‘illegal materials’.

The news comes from Russian news agency TASS. The communication supervisor demanded Discord to remove 947 messages for displaying illegal content.

According to TASS, citing Roskomnadzor, the posts contain “child pornography, calls for extremism, the involvement of minors in illegal activity, calls for suicide, LGBT propaganda, and pro-drug content”.

In February 2021, Russia implemented a law that requires social media to independently identify and remove illegal content from its platform. If they do not comply, Roskomnadzor is allowed to impose a fine, which has happened several times over the past few years.

According to Reuters, last year Moscow decided to broaden the restrictions on so-called ‘LGBT propaganda’. It was President Vladimir Putin’s way to promote traditional Russian values and muzzle lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders who are propagating for equal rights.

Earlier this week, a Russian court imposed a fine of 3.5 million rubles, or approximately $ 37,750, on Discord for violating the self-regulated management law.

In 2023, the instant messaging platform got a fine of $ 64,700 by a Moscow judge for failing to remove pornographic images involving minors.

Discord isn’t the only platform that’s being dealt with by Russia’s legal system. In November 2023, both Reddit and the Wikimedia Foundation got fined by the Moscow court for refusing to delete ‘fake news’ regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“These orders are part of an ongoing effort by the Russian government to limit the spread of reliable, well-sourced information in the country. We are against such pressure tactics and will not back down in the face of government threats to deny people their fundamental human right to access free, open, and verifiable information,” Jacob Rogers, Associate General Counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement to Cybernews.

Apple is in a pickle with Russia as well. Last month, the tech company was ordered to remove dozens of VPN apps from its Russian App Store. Official reports suggest 25 VPN apps were removed last Summer. Researchers at GreatFire, a nonprofit interest group that strives for freedom of online information, say it’s closer to 60.

Google and Twitch are also under scrutiny in Russia for not removing what is considered illegal content.