Norway and Switzerland have taken a different stance to most other countries in Europe on restricting Russian state-controlled outlets and freedom of expression.
According to the European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), this has been owing notably to a strong protection of freedom of expression in the national legal frameworks and the perception of a resilient public sphere.
It adds that in the case of Norway, on April 26 the country’s Minister of Culture and Equality Anette Trettebergstuen announced that no sanctions would be taken against RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik, in line with recommendations made by the Norwegian media regulator, NMA. NMA and the Norwegian government have assessed that “the Norwegian society and the public are able to resist manipulation attempts from Russian state-owned media”, according to Mari Velsand, NMA DG. Freedom of expression enjoys a strong protection under the Norwegian constitution and both the government and NMA considered that the threshold to restrict freedom of expression was not reached, as RT and Sputnik do not pose threats to basic societal functions in Norway. In this context, NMA’s view is that media literacy is the best tool against Russian propaganda.
Meanwhile, Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of the federal government of the Swiss Confederation, decided not to restrict access to RT and Sputnik, despite following the EU on the rest of their sanctions. The Federal Council considers that opposing false information with facts is more efficient than banning them.
