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In its long-running dispute with Russian broadcaster RT DE (previously known as Russia Today) (see IRIS 2022-2/19), the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg (Berlin-Brandenburg media authority – mabb), as the state media authority responsible, decided, against the background of the Russian Federation’s unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, to threaten RT DE Productions GmbH, provider of RT DE, with a fine of EUR 25 000 if it did not cease broadcasting the channel in Germany by 4 March 2022. With the RT DE livestream still available on various websites on 5 March 2022, the...

In its 23rd report, published on 18 February 2022, the Kommission zur Ermittlung des Finanzbedarfs der Rundfunkanstalten (Commission for Determining the Financial Requirements of Broadcasters – KEF) stated that Germany’s public broadcasters would receive the funding they needed if the public broadcasting fee was raised to EUR 18.36 per month for the 2021 to 2024 funding period. This adjustment had been recommended in the KEF’s 22nd report on 1 January 2021 and implemented by the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) in a decision of 20 July 2021. The KEF comprises...

In a decision of 26 January 2022, the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court – BVerfG), as the supreme guardian of fundamental rights in Germany, refused to accept a constitutional complaint by well-known German TV presenter Jan Böhmermann relating to a poem he had written, insulting the Turkish president. As a result, previous civil courts rulings, in which parts of the poem were declared unlawful, are now legally valid. The case, which attracted a high level of media attention in Germany after it triggered a general public debate on the limits of artistic freedom...

A new Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Support Act – FFG) entered into force in Germany on 1 January 2022. The new act renews the provisions of the 2017 FFG, which was valid from 2017 until 2021, and contains a number of amendments in response to changing market conditions. Adopted in accordance with the German system of regularly reviewing the film support system, the 2022 FFG only contains minor changes compared with the 2017 version and will remain in force until 31 December 2023. Firstly, the act broadens the scope of responsibilities of the Filmförderungsanstalt (Film Support...

On 1 February 2022, the Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht (Commission on Licensing and Supervision – ZAK), a joint organ of the 14 German state media authorities, whose responsibilities include granting licences to national broadcasters in Germany and related supervisory measures, prohibited the production and distribution of the RT DE television channel in Germany because it did not have the necessary licence. In response, the Russian government took measures against the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, including the closure of its Moscow office, banned individuals...