Expert evaluation finds no ‘gay propaganda’ in Apple’s iOS emoji

An expert evaluation conducted by the Russian government (at Apple’s request) revealed that default emoji on iOS do not violate Russia’s law against “propaganda of nontraditional relationships” (so-called “gay propaganda”).

The experts acknowledged that emoji can be used in different contexts, which can carry both “positive” and “negative” connotations. With regard to the same-sex iOS emoji, the expert evaluation found they did not promote “nontraditional relationships.”

Experts arrived at similar conclusions over emoji depicting cigarettes, alcohol, pills, and a syringe.