LGBT content is being censored in Lithuania under the disguise of protection of minors. It's time for a change.
Update – 11 July 2023: For thirteen years now, the regulatory system in Lithuania has embedded a law resembling the Russian anti-gay propaganda laws: the Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information. One of its amendments defines harmful information as “disdaining family values” and promoting “alternative” family.
Although the Government assured that the law was not going to be applied in a discriminatory way, two social pro-LGBT videos have already been censored and one social documentary was postponed until the regulatory authority carried out a decision on its content’s compatibility with the above-mentioned regulation. Unreasonably relying on the "anti-gay propaganda" provision, some schools still obstruct access to inclusive education which also affects the deteriorating state of LGBTIQ students' emotional wellbeing.
EC(t)HR in Macate v. Lithuania, a case which concerned state-imposed restrictions for distributing a fairy-tale book with LGBTIQ-friendly content, found that information cannot be considered harmful simply because it contains information about same-sex relationships. Despite this decision, Lithuanian authorities so far did not take any action to repeal the "anti-gay propaganda provision.
Stand up against LGBT+ content censorship in Lithuania by signing this petition!
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For almost ten years now, the regulatory system in Lithuania has embedded a law resembling the Russian anti-gay propaganda laws: the Law on the Protection of Minors Against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information. One of its amendments defines harmful information as “disdaining family values” and promoting “alternative” family.
Although the Government assured that the law was not going to be applied in a discriminatory way, two social pro-LGBT videos have already been censored and the fairy-tale book Gintarinė širdis by Neringa Dangvydė was taken off the market.
Recently, the Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT was forced to postpone a social documentary series (Spalvos) featuring gay dads raising a child in the UK until regulatory authority carried out a decision on its content’s compatibility with the national regulations.
Stand up against LGBT content censorship in Lithuania by signing this petition!
This campaign is being run in conjunction with LGL.