Moscow Court Fines Wikimedia Foundation 15.2 Million Rubles for Leaving Content on Wikipedia, Including Articles Flagged as ‘LGBT Propaganda’

Moscow’s Tagansky District Court imposed four administrative fines totaling 15.2 million rubles on the Wikimedia Foundation on November 10. An Interfax correspondent reporting from the courtroom said the court found the foundation, which operates Wikipedia, liable under Part 2 of Article 13.41 of Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses. The provision penalizes website owners for failing to take down information that Russian law requires them to remove.

According to a courtroom report by Ostorozhno, Novosti, Rosmolodyozh, Russia’s federal youth affairs agency, complained that articles in the encyclopedia contained ‘LGBT propaganda’. The cases also concerned military-related material, including information about technical standards used by Russia’s Defense Ministry.

In 2022, the Wikimedia Foundation appealed fines totaling 5 million rubles for leaving material on Russian-language Wikipedia, including articles on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The foundation argued in its appeal that the material was protected by the rights to free expression and access to information.