Amazon has succumbed to pressure from the UAE and restricted search results for LGBTQ +-related products, such as rainbow colored books and flags on its country website.
The company decided to restrict the search after being threatened with sanctions by the UAE government, according to the New York Times which first reported the story.
The news comes when Pride Month, designed to celebrate LGBTQ + people around the world each year, is coming to an end.
Homosexuality is illegal in the United Arab Emirates, one of 69 countries in the world that have laws criminalizing being gay.
“As a company, we remain committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, and we believe that the rights of LGBTQ + people must be protected,” an Amazon spokesman told the BBC.
However, they added, “With Amazon stores around the world, we must also comply with local laws and regulations in the countries where we operate.”
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Earlier this month, Saudi Arabian authorities confiscated rainbow-colored toys and children’s clothing that they say encourage homosexuality, according to state television Al Ekhbariya. He said trade ministry officials removed a number of items from stores in the capital, Riyadh, such as hats, skirts, T-shirts, hair clips and cases.
Saudi Arabia has also banned films that depict or even refer to sexual minorities. In April, the kingdom said it had asked Disney to cut the “LGBTQ references” from the Marvel Doctor Strange movie in the Multiverse of Madness, but Disney refused.
Disney’s latest animation, Lightyear, which includes a same-sex kiss, has also been banned in Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen other countries.