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On 30 January 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in the case of Sekmadienis Ltd. v. Lithuania, concerning freedom of expression and the regulation of commercial advertising deemed offensive. Notably, the Court unanimously found that an advertising company’s freedom of expression had been violated by the imposition of a fine under Lithuania’s advertising law. The applicant in the case - a Vilnius-based applicant company ran an advertising campaign in October 2012 introducing a clothing line by the designer R.K., including advertisements on R.K.’s website. The...

The Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK) has decided to restrict the free reception of the Russian television channel TVCI, the international version of Russian channel TVC, for six months. The LRTK considered that in June of this year, TVCI had broadcast content that incited war and hatred during the programme “The Right to Know”, in which Russia’s views on foreign policy issues had been expressed. At a hearing held by the LRTK before it issued its decision, the Russian channel’s Director of Development, Alexei Guscin, had spoken on the broadcaster’s behalf, categorically denying...

Members of the Lietuvos radijo ir televizijos komisija (Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission - LRTK) have met to discuss a possible ban on the two Russian television channels Rossija RTR (previously RTR Planeta) and TVCi. In a statement, the LRTK said that programmes broadcast by the two channels had violated the Law on Public Information of the Republic of Lithuania and the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2007/65/EC). Since it is registered in Sweden, Rossija RTR is also subject to the administrative control and jurisdiction of an EU member state and must therefore uphold the country...

On 1 November 2017, the Amendments to Articles 2 and 34 of the Law on the Provision of Information to the Public No. I-1418 will enter into force. The Amendments were enacted on 1 June 2017 by Law No. XIII-396. Sixty-six members of Parliament voted in favour of these Amendments, three members were against and five abstained from voting. The main changes related to Article 34 of the Law. The Amendment to paragraph 4 of Article 34 establishes that re-broadcasters re-broadcasting programmes and (or) other persons providing the services of the dissemination of programmes or separate parts thereof on...

On 17 February 2017, the European Commission issued a decision on the temporary suspension of the retransmission of a television channel in Lithuania. On 16 November 2016 the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission adopted a decision pursuant to the Law on Provision of Information to the Public, which suspended for three months the retransmission, including on the Internet, of the Russian TV channel “RTR Planeta.” The decision entered into force on 21 November 2016 after the settlement with the Swedish authorities as the transmitting member state and broadcaster was not reached. This is not...