Human rights groups warn that LGBT people are routinely prosecuted under Milonov's legislation. Emoji country flags are based on ISO 3166-1: a list of internationally recognized two-letter country codes. Homophobia is rife in Russia, with a recent survey revealing that 37 per cent of Russians think of homosexuality as a disease that needs to be cured, according to the Moscow Times. The politician called for the country's media watchdog to block Facebook over its rainbow flag tool. Last year Vitaly Milonov, the architect of the propaganda law, called for Apple CEO Tim Cook to be banned from entering the country after he came out as gay.Įarlier this year, another tech giant was the target of Milonov's anti-gay rhetoric. This isn't the first time Apple has come under fire from the Russian government. If found guilty, the technology giant faces a fine of up to 1 million rubles (£10,000) and a three month suspension across the country, the Daily Telegraph reports. Rainbow Flag emoji is a waving Rainbow colored flag. Homosexuality is not officially a crime in Russia, but "gay propaganda" legislation introduced in 2013 bans the promotion or display of homosexuality in front of minors. The police inquiry was launched in Russia's Kirov region after Orthodox activist and lawyer Yaroslav Mikhailov filed a complaint that the emojis violated the controversial law, Pink News reports.
The gay flag emoji update#
The emojis were released earlier this year as part of Apple's iOS update 8.3 and include images of same-sex parents with their children, two men holding hands and a lesbian couple kissing.
Based on the original Gilbert Baker Pride Flag (but with two fewer stripes), this is the most commonly seen LGBT flag in the world and is the most universally. The new Emoji formed is displayed as a single Emoji: on some platforms with good. Russian police have launched an investigation into whether Apple's gay emojis are a violation of the country's strict "homosexual propaganda" law. The colors of the LGBT pride flag, also known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, depict the LGBT community’s variety as well as the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. These individual Emojis are: (white flag), (rainbow).