Indonesia Asks Facebook To Block Gay Emojis

Last fall Russian police launched an investigation into whether Apple’s so-called “gay emojis” violate the national ban on gay propaganda. Yesterday Indonesia asked Facebook to block them entirely. TIME reports:

Indonesian authorities on Thursday said they would ask Facebook and its popular messaging service WhatsApp, to block subscribers from using emojis and stickers with LGBT themes.

Ismail Cawidu, spokesperson at the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, said social media should respect what he termed Indonesia’s norms and culture, according to local news outlet Detik. Although homosexuality is legal in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, same-sex relationships remain a sensitive issue.

Companies who disregard the request may have to face the ministry’s Negative Content Management Panel, a division that has been known to recommend blocks on websites, Detik reported Ismail as saying.