Russian politician wants to ban Facebook over rainbow pictures

Vitaly Milonov, the architect of Russia's "gay propaganda" law, is calling for Facebook to be shut down over its rainbow flag tool.

The social media giant launched an app that allows users to superimpose the rainbow flag, a symbol of support for the gay community, over their profile pictures to celebrate the US Supreme Court ruling in favour of same-sex marriage on Friday.

But Milonov argued that the tool is spreading gay "propaganda" and is a "crude violation" of Russian law, according to Pink News.

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Although homosexuality is not a crime in Russia, the law Milonov introduced in 2013 bans the promotion or display of homosexuality in front of minors.

"Facebook has no age limits, it is impossible to control how many minors are there," he said. "That is why it would be completely normal to pull the plug on Facebook in Russia."

He has appealed to the country's media watchdog to block the social networking site, and vowed to take the matter up with President Putin if no action is taken.

Milonov has previously compared homosexual relationships to living "with a dog, with a horse, with a sheep, whatever" and called for Apple CEO Tim Cook to be banned from Russia after he spoke publicly about being gay.

Russian gay rights activists have mocked the parliamentarian's latest comments on social media, sharing images of Milonov waving rainbow flags.

But homophobia remains rife in Russia: a recent survey revealed that 37 per cent of Russians think of homosexuality as a disease that needs to be cured, according to the Moscow Times. Human rights groups warn that the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are routinely prosecuted under Milonov's legislation.

"[The law] advances vague definitions of propaganda that lend themselves to the targeting and ongoing persecution of the country’s LGBT community," says the Council for Global Equality.