Russian state media reported that Roskomnadzor investigated Duolingo in February 2024 after an activist complaint about LGBTQ+ references. In spring, the watchdog reportedly ordered compliance, warning of a possible fine or ban; it later said Duolingo confirmed removing the material. The report could not be independently verified.
The popular language learning platform Duolingo has removed references to LGBTQ+ people in its Russian version at Moscow’s request, the state-run news agency TASS reported Tuesday.
Russia’s federal censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, said Friday that it’s investigating the language-learning app Duolingo for possible “distribution of LGBT propaganda,” according to Russian state media.
Russia’s state media watchdog Roskomnadzor had this spring ordered Duolingo to comply with its “LGBT propaganda” law after conservative activists spotted phrases like “Ben and Peter love each other” and “Clara met her wife Maria at a lesbian bar” on the app.
CEO Luis von Ahn said Duolingo kept its two-week winter break for all employees in 2025, despite growing headcount 14% to about 950. A small rotating crew keeps the app running while most work pauses. Von Ahn said the shared break helps staff disconnect, travel and rest, and is worth the cost.
Duolingo may be a publicly traded tech company with nearly 1,000 employees, but every winter it does something many corporate leaders would consider unthinkable: it gives staff a two-week break at the same time.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Duolingo said it was updating benefits so every U.S. employee could access reproductive healthcare, including reimbursement for travel needed to obtain abortion services. CEO Luis von Ahn also warned that if Pennsylvania banned abortion, the company might have to grow its offices elsewhere to attract talent.
Duolingo, the language-learning app, said it would update its benefits "to ensure every Duolingo employee in the United States can access reproductive healthcare, including reimbursement for any travel expenses necessary for accessing abortion services.”Read moreDreamstime / MCT
A spokesperson for Duolingo told Fast Company that the company was “updating our benefits to ensure every Duolingo employee in the United States can access reproductive healthcare, including reimbursement for any travel expenses necessary for accessing abortion services.”
Giant Eagle, Duolingo among Pittsburgh-area companies pledging to reimburse workers who must travel for abortion services | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A securities class action filed earlier in October 2026 alleges Duolingo executives concealed efforts to increase monetization through aggressive ads, paid-tier upselling and low-quality AI features, while telling investors they prioritized user growth. The suit says these efforts frustrated users and slowed growth. Duolingo had not immediately responded to the New York Post.
The suit alleges Duolingo executives relentlessly advertised paid subscription tiers to users on the free version of the app and implemented low-quality AI features that they knew would frustrate customers, even as they told investors they were prioritizing user growth.
Popular language-learning app Duolingo is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing its executives of keeping investors in the dark about monetization and AI efforts that drove away customers.
In 2022, Duolingo disabled monetization in Russia and Belarus in solidarity with Ukraine, according to a June 2024 Moscow Times report.
That year, Duolingo disabled monetization in Russia and Belarus in solidarity with Ukraine.
At a September 2025 event, CEO Luis von Ahn said Duolingo had not laid off any full-time employees since its 2009 founding and had added staff since April, while AI helped employees produce lessons faster. He said the goal was more output, not replacing workers; the company was phasing out contractors.
Five months later, Duolingo hasn't laid off a single full-time employee, and is instead using artificial intelligence to bolster the productivity of the humans it does employ, co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn said at the Fast Company Innovation Festival 2025 on Tuesday.
CEO Luis von Ahn said Duolingo backed away from evaluating employees on AI use, announced with its April 2025 “AI-first” policy. After staff questioned using AI for its own sake, he said performance should focus on job outcomes and AI should not be forced when it does not help. The company said AI assists, rather than replaces, employees.
Nearly a year after announcing Duolingo would evaluate AI use in performance reviews, CEO Luis von Ahn said the company has let that metric go.
On Oct. 28, 2024, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on X, calling her the better option for the U.S. economy. The report said the post drew mixed reactions, including criticism and cancellation threats from some investors and users; von Ahn declined to comment.
Duolingo founder and chief executive Luis von Ahn publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday, writing on X that the Democratic nominee is “the better option for the U.S. economy.”
Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn speaks at the Byham Theater in 2017. On Monday, Mr. von Ahn took to X to declare his support for Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in the presidential election.
On Sept. 22, 2023, WPXI reported that Duolingo pledged $1 million a year through a multi-year program supporting nine East End early-childhood centers, with up to $80,000 in direct funding per school. Shady Lane School said it planned to use its funding to provide health insurance for 32 educators.
PITTSBURGH — Shady Lane School is one of 9 Early Childhood Education Centers in the East End that was chosen by Duolingo to receive funding. This week, Duolingo, which is headquartered in East Liberty - pledged $1 Million dollars a year to help schools in need. It’s just in time as emergency pandemic funding runs out next week.