Amazon Restricts L.G.B.T.Q. Products in United Arab Emirates
Amazon moved to restrict items and search results related to L.G.B.T.Q. people and issues on its website in the United Arab Emirates on Monday after receiving pressure from the government there, according to company documents viewed by The New York Times.
The Emirati government gave Amazon until Friday to comply under threat of penalties, the documents show. It was not clear what those penalties would be.
Homosexuality is criminalized in the Emirates, punishable by fines and imprisonment, according to the State Department. Amazon’s restrictions on products in the Emirates are indicative of the compromises that tech companies are willing to make to operate in restrictive countries, even when professing to be adamant about free expression in their own country.
Netflix has pulled shows in Saudi Arabia and censored scenes in Vietnam, Apple has stored customer data on Chinese servers despite privacy concerns, and Google removed an app for a Russian opposition leader last year after facing a threat of prosecution there.
