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Russian Radio Station Slapped With Warning Over Program on Swingers

The watchdog said the radio program contained information that was harmful to children. Andreanne Germain / Flickr
Russia's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor has issued an official warning to Govorit Moskva radio station for broadcasting a program on swingers, the watchdog said Friday.

In the warning, which was dated Tuesday but only announced on the watchdog's website Friday, Roskomnadzor said that an episode of the station's program “Underground” that was broadcast in May had violated the law on protecting children from harmful information.

Govorit Moskva said in an online article Friday that the program was devoted to the culture of swinging, in which participants swap sexual partners.

The program “rejected traditional family values,” according to the warning, a copy of which was published on the agency's website. Under the law, the warning said, such programs should not be aired between 4 a.m. and 11 p.m. Govorit Moskva's program was broadcast at 2:30 pm.

The radio station will appeal the decision, its chief editor Sergei Dorenko was cited in the Govorit Moskva report as saying. While Rokomnadzor claimed that the program was marked as being for children over 12 years old, all of the radio programs are in fact billed as being for people over 16, he said.

Under Russian law, if a media outlet gets two warnings within a year, Roskomadzor can ask a court to revoke its publishing license.

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