Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has drawn a swift response from some broadcast regulators in Central and Eastern Europe.
The first to react was Latvia’s NEPLP, which banned the distribution of the Russian channels Rossiya RTR, Rossiya 24 and TV Centr on the grounds of national security. In a statement, it said that “this decision was taken for the first time in the history of the European Union, using a provision in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive that allows derogations from the approximately one-year restriction procedure in emergency situations”. It also called on all EU member states to take the same action.
Shortly after, Poland’s National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) decided to remove the Russian channels RT (Russia Today), RT Documentary, RTR Planeta, Soyuz TV and Rossiya 24 from the list of permitted services in the country. This means that they can no longer be distributed by cable, satellite and internet platforms in Poland.
Meanwhile in Romania the National Audiovisual Council (CNA), while not banning any Russian channels, has issued a statement recommending that audiovisual media service providers “ensure compliance with legal obligations regarding the correct information of the public, in the context of news and debate programmes on the subject of the Russian aggression against Ukraine”.
In Ukraine itself, the regulator National Council has said it will appeal to the leadership of the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), as well as separately to the media regulators of European countries, “to take possible measures to stop the broadcasting of Russian propaganda channels in their territories”.
For its part, the Russian regulator Roskomnadzor has issued a statement criticising Facebook for removing the Zvezda TV channel, RAI Novosti news agency and Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru internet sites from Meta Platforms.
It has also warned Russian media outlets that they should only use official media sources when reporting on events in Ukraine. Disseminating “knowingly false information” will result in a fine and immediate blocking on the internet.
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