The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Amazon was pressured by the government to remove search results for more than 150 LGBTQ-related words.
According to The Times, Amazon was given until Friday to comply with the government's request to remove search results related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LPL) community. The article didn't explain why the government of the United Arab Emirates asked Amazon to remove search results related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer community.
Several of the LGBTQ-related words that Insider searched on Amazon.ae returned no results or mentions. Among those that did not yield any results were " lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer" Maia Kobabe's "Gender Queer: A Memoir" and Jacob Tobia's " Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story" could not be found on Amazon's store in the United States.
There are some search terms that seem to have bypassed the removal of search results. A listing for a writing journal with a rainbow flag on its cover was found by Insider. There is a listing for paper plates and napkins with the words Mr and Mr printed on them.
Some of the books that could be searched for are "Call Me By Your Name", "The Color Purple", and "Same but Different Too: The Colourful Life" by Naomi.
According to a US State Department report, same-sex sexual activity is a crime in the United Arab Emirates.
The company has restricted some search results on its website.
We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we believe that the rights of LGBTQ+ people must be protected. We have to comply with the local laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate.
Insider couldn't get in touch with the embassy in Singapore.
The acquisition of Souq.com by Amazon allowed the Seattle-based company to skip regulatory approvals in the United Arab Emirates. The company's cloud-computing unit planned to open three data centers in the country this year.
In exchange for the right to operate in those markets, various Silicon Valley giants have bowed. The Times reported in May last year that Apple stored customers' data in China. Apple told the Times that it was following regulations in China. The Financial Times reported that an episode of a comedy show that mocked the kingdom was removed from the streaming service.
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