Amazon bows to UAE pressure to restrict LGBTQ+ search results

Amazon has bowed to pressure from the United Arab Emirates and restricted search results for LGBTQ+-related products such as books and rainbow-coloured flags on its website in the country.

The company decided to restrict the searches after being threatened with penalties by the UAE government, according to the New York Times which first reported the story.

The news comes as Pride month, designed to celebrate LGBTQ+ people around the world every year, comes to an end.

Homosexuality is illegal in the UAE, one of 69 countries in the world that have laws that criminalise being gay.