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In interim rulings issued on 19 May 2022, the Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt am Main Appeal Court – OLG) rejected two appeals lodged by the provider of the German language version of the Russian TV broadcaster RT (RT DE), seeking a ban on the publication of the first and second editions of a book by a former RT DE employee acting as a whistle-blower. In the book, the author deals, in particular, with the broadcaster’s alleged involvement in undercover investigations by the Russian government in relation to the opposition leader Alexei Navalny and is critical of RT DE’s...

As already reported, at the beginning of 2022 (Iris 2022-2/10), the National Electronic Mass Media Council of Latvia (NEPLP) banned the distribution of nine Russian television programmes in Latvia which, in NEPLP’s view, disseminated content and appeals that endangered national security. Since then, Latvia has continued to restrict content endangering national security. Media monitoring by NEPLP has resulted in new bans, as well as legislative changes. Since 24 February 2022 - the beginning of the war started by Russia in Ukraine - NEPLP has prohibited the retransmission into Latvia of...

In an order of 30 March 2022, the President of the General Court of the European Union rejected the application for interim measures submitted by RT France in case T-125/22 R (RT France/Council). On 1 March 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted a Decision pursuant to Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union and a Regulation pursuant to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) suspending the broadcasting activities of certain media, including RT France, in and towards the European Union (see IRIS 2022-3:1/6 and the Observatory’s note on this subject)....

In a press release of 1 March 2022, concerning its decisions in cases brought by Google Ireland Ltd. and Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd, the Verwaltungsgericht Köln (Cologne Administrative Court – VG Köln) announced that the reporting obligations added to the Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (Network Enforcement Act – NetzDG) under Article 7 of the Gesetz zur besseren Bekämpfung des Rechtsextremismus und der Hasskriminalität (Act on improving the fight against right-wing extremism and hate crime), which entered into force on 1 February 2022, were inapplicable because they...

The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022 has prompted media regulatory authorities across Europe to take various measures against several Russian state-controlled media outlets, over recurring disinformation in their coverage of the conflict. While some regulators carefully monitor the situation, others have taken steps to restrict the retransmission of certain channels on their national territory, on the grounds of threats to national security – for EU regulators this has been mostly on the basis of Article 3(3) of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive. The...