Russian authorities have placed the global anime and manga platform MyAnimeList on the country’s national blacklist, citing “extremist” content linked to LGBTQ+ themes, state media reported Tuesday.
The regulator, Roskomnadzor, added MyAnimeList to its list of banned sites last Wednesday. No formal reason was given in the decision notice. Russian users attempting to access the site now see an error message.
Roskomnadzor told the state news agency RIA Novosti that the ban is due to “systematic placement of materials containing information propagating non-traditional sexual relations and/or preference.” The regulator added that the ban could be reversed if MyAnimeList removes the content deemed illegal in Russia.
MyAnimeList is a Tokyo-based platform dedicated to Japanese animation and comics and boasts around 20 million users globally.
This development comes in the broader context of Russia’s long-standing measures against LGBTQ+ expression. Since 2013, a law banning “gay propaganda” has been applied across media and public spaces, and in late 2023, the country’s Supreme Court declared the “international LGBT public movement” an “extremist organisation”.
Russia has also previously blocked several anime titles on the grounds of violence and other content concerns. For example, in 2021 a St. Petersburg court banned online distribution of titles such as Death Note and Tokyo Ghoul citing risk of teen re-enactments of violent scenes.
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