14 DAY TRIAL // According to The Independent, Apple is being investigated in Russia after it has included some same-sex couple emoji characters in the keyboard included within the company's iOS mobile operating system.
The report further says that, if found guilty of "homosexual propaganda," Apple might have to pay a fine of up to one million rubles ($15,000).
As stated by The Independent, "Local police in Russia’s Kirov region began their enquiries after Orthodox activist and lawyer Yaroslav Mikhailov complained that the images violated a controversial 2013 law banning the promotion of homosexuality to minors."
Even if a number of Russian MPs have been known to reprimand the use of emoticons that depicted same-sex couples by some mobile operating systems and online entities, this is actually the first time an investigation has been started regarding this issue.
Whether Apple is found guilty or not, it should be quite easy to provide a custom Russian keyboard with a limited set of emoji characters that aren't seen as controversial as the ones just added in the latest iOS release.
The problem Apple faces in the future is how it can consult with both the Unicode Consortium and Russian's government to get a clear decision on what emojis should be included in the Russian version of the iOS keyboard in the next OS updates, to avoid being indicted on account of a newly added keyboard character.