On Tuesday, Iraq’s official media regulator ordered all media and social media companies operating in the Islamic country not to use the term “homosexuality” and instead to say “sexual deviance”.

The Iraqi Communications and Media Commission (CMC) said in a statement that the use of the term “gender” was also banned. Additionally, it has also prohibited all phone and internet companies licenced by it from using the terms in any of their mobile applications. The regulator “directs media organisations… not to use the term ‘homosexuality’ and to use the correct term ‘sexual deviance’,” the statement in Arabic said.

As of now, no specific penalties for violating this new guideline have been officially set. However, potential consequences could involve financial fines, as per various media reports.

A government spokesperson said that the penalties would be determined in due course.