End clap for RT and Sputnik. The Twenty-Seven approved new sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday, March 1, with the ban on broadcasting of these Russian media within the European Union. In response to the war in Ukraine, theContent from Sputnik and RT (ex-Russia Today) channels in English, German, French and Spanish can no longer be broadcast on television networks or on the internet.
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The two media are “canals” from “propaganda actions” and “distortion of facts” of Russia, which “directly and seriously threaten the public order and security of the Union”, write the Twenty-Seven. These prohibitions “should be maintained until the aggression against Ukraine comes to an end and until the Russian Federation and its associated media cease carrying out propaganda actions against the Union and its Member States”. Franceinfo takes stock of this ban.
1Which media are targeted?
RT is a television channel launched in 2005 at the initiative of the Kremlin, under the name of “Russia Today”, and financed by the Russian State. In France, she employs 176 people including 100 journalists. Uan authorization to broadcast in France was granted to it by the CSA in December 2015. France is thus the only EU Member State to host an RT subsidiary on its soil and to grant it this broadcasting license.
On a daily basis, on its television channel and its multimedia content, RT promotes the Kremlin’s position abroad. Its creation results from a need for the Russian elites “to rethink their mechanism of influence, to reforge a set of instruments, in particular media”, analysis for franceinfo Maxim AudinetDoctor of Slavic Studies and author of the book Russia Todayan influential media serving the Russian state“(editions of the INA). France infowho listened to his programs for several hours, observed few dissonant voices among the guests.
Sputnik is a web media also funded by the Russian state. It has a website, as well as a video version on YouTube and on social networks.
2Why was this decision made?
Faced with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the President of the European Commission felt that it was imperative to fight against what she calls “the Kremlin’s media machine”. “State media Russia Today and Sputnik and their affiliates (…) will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our Union. We are therefore developing tools to ban their toxic misinformation and harmful in Europe”, said Ursula von der Leyen on February 27, three days after the start of the conflict.
An observation shared by Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade. “We Europeans have been too naive, too lenient with these organs of propaganda and massive disinformation”judged the spokesperson for the deputies La République en Marche, Tuesday, March 1.
#Sputnik, #RT and all the tools of Russian war propaganda no longer have a place in Europe.
They have been undermining European public information and debate for too long. pic.twitter.com/m1aN2CuVkr
– Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade (@PA_Anglade) March 2, 2022
3Where are we with the entry into force of the ban?
The ban on RT and Sputnik officially came into force in the EU on Wednesday March 2, at midday. Ursula von der Leyen had announced the banning of RT channels across the EU three days earlier, without specifying the contours of such a decision.
Each Member State, via its media regulatory authority and its telecom operators, is responsible for enforcing this ban. Ahead of the rest of the Europeans, Germany announced in early February the banning of the RT channel, in a context of tensions with the Kremlin.
In France as in the rest of Europe, the ban came gradually after a meeting with the Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, Monday, February 28. In the process, TikTok and Facebook announced that they were suspending access to these accounts in Europe. On Tuesday, it was YouTube’s turn to block these channels on the mainland”with immediate effect”, “in view of the ongoing war in Ukraine”.
4How is this measure legally justified?
According to the text published in the Official Journal of the EU, “any license or authorization for broadcasting, any transmission and distribution agreement entered into with the legal persons, entities or bodies listed (…) are suspended”. This concerns all means of dissemination, whether “cable, satellite, IPTV, internet service providers, new or existing internet video sharing platforms or applications”. The text specifies that “these measures shall not prevent such media and their staff from carrying out activities in the Union other than broadcasting, such as investigations and interviews”.
In France, the French public authority for the regulation of audiovisual and digital communication (Arcom) ensures that these decisions have “for the effect of suspending the agreement and the distribution of RT France”. They are “direct and immediate application by all the operators concerned”, from March 2.
This decision should, however, be challenged in court. On Tuesday, Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor protested the measures, saying they “violate the fundamental principles of the free flow of information and its unimpeded access”. RT France, for its part, launched a petition on the Change.org platform to denounce this ban, bringing together 10,500 signatures in three hours.
The EU, however, denies these accusations. Josep Borrell, the head of European diplomacy, considered that these media did not produce free information but “massive misinformation”. “We rely on solid legal bases (…) and we will defend our decision in court” Europeans, also assured an anonymous European source to AFP, while admitting that reprisals against European media in Russia were “a possibility”. “Vladimir Putin will hit our media”, thus warned Fabrice D’Almeida, historian and vice-president of the Panthéon-Assas University.