Law enforcement officials in Russia have initiated administrative charges against key executives at several leading online streaming services for purported breaches of LGBTQ+ “propaganda” legislation, as reported by the exiled news source Mediazona on Wednesday.

Records of these charges, submitted to a Moscow arbitration court earlier this week, did not specify the content that platforms like Kinopoisk, Wink, Ivi, Amediteka, 24TV, Digital Television, and Beeline TV are alleged to have broadcast.

Mediazona notes that several of these companies have faced fines in the past for airing films and series that the Russian authorities classify as promoting “non-traditional” relationships and lifestyles.

Alexander Dunayevsky, the CEO of Kinopoisk, and Vyacheslav Popov, the head of Wink, owned by Rostelecom, have each been penalized multiple times in recent years for their roles in distributing what is labeled as LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” Additionally, Ivan Grinin, the deputy CEO of Ivi, has also been fined for similar infringements on several occasions.

Among the senior managers currently under administrative scrutiny, only Vladislav Dubrov, the CEO of 24TV, and Alexei Bernat, the program director of Digital Television, have not previously been accused of distributing LGBTQ+ “propaganda.” Bernat faces charges specifically for exposing minors to LGBTQ+ “propaganda.”

Since President Vladimir Putin tightened the LGBTQ+ “propaganda” laws in 2022, imposing strict restrictions on any public displays of purportedly “non-traditional” relationships and lifestyles, Russian streaming services have endured substantial penalties.

In 2023, the Russian Supreme Court further intensified its stance against the LGBTQ+ community by designating the fictitious “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist” organization.