The latest banning of a Russian language channel in Central and Eastern Europe has come with an interesting twist.
Late last month, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) decided to suspend RTR Planeta for 12 months, citing three instances in 2017 when it had violated the EU’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive and Lithuania’s Law on Public Information.
There was nothing new in the move, with the regulator having taken a similar action against the channel in both 2015 and 2016. However, in this instance it has been reported that a small number of Lithuanian cable operators have decided to ignore the ban and others, including Init and Balticum, are questioning it.
The reason is that the ban applies to the version of RTR Planeta registered in Sweden, an EU state, rather than the one in Russia. As a result, some operators believe they can still distribute the Russian-registered version.
The LKTA has responded by conceding there is a grey legal area in this ban. It has also said that operators should demand that foreign broadcasters should in future clearly state what country their channels are registered in.
RTR Planeta is not the only Russian language channel to have recently faced sanctions in Lithuania, with the LRTK having also acted against TVCI last year.
Elsewhere, there have been many similar actions taken in Ukraine, as well as a smaller number in Latvia, in the last three to four years.
We have also recently seen Moldova enact a controversial law that prohibits the distribution of channels not produced in EU, US or Canada, or by states, including Russia, that have not ratified the European Convention on Transborder Television.
Taken together, they reflect the political tensions still very much present in parts of Central and Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, they are not going to go away any time soon.