A Berlin court upheld the ban on Russia Today's broadcasts in Germany
The Berlin Administrative Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Russian television channel RT DE Productions GmbH and upheld the legality of the ban on its broadcasts in Germany. The restrictions were imposed by the Media Authority of Berlin and Brandenburg back in early February 2022 due to the lack of a mandatory German license.
The plaintiff, which is currently in the process of liquidation, attempted to challenge the regulator’s decision first through interim measures in 2023 and now during the main court proceedings. Representatives of RT DE based their defense on the claim that they were not a separate broadcaster but merely produced content in Germany for a Moscow-based company.
The court completely rejected the Russian side’s arguments. Lawyers pointed out a contradiction: the broadcaster had previously stated that editorial responsibility for the broadcasts lay with its Berlin office, not in Russia. No substantial evidence was provided to show that the German subsidiary supplied Moscow with only individual program segments.
Eva Flecken, director of the media regulator, expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision, emphasizing that it officially confirms RT DE’s status as a Berlin-based broadcaster that knowingly operated without a license. Nevertheless, the court ruling has not yet become final—the Russian media outlet retains the right to appeal to the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg.
This was reported by Welt.
Russian propaganda is circumventing sanctions and continues to distribute content from the banned television network Russia Today to audiences in European Union countries. To do this, it uses a network of Telegram channels that simultaneously replicate RT’s content and adapt it for a European audience.
Following inspections in May, the two largest payment terminal networks—EasyPay (LLC “FC ‘Kontraktovy Dom’”) and City24 (LLC “Swift Garant”)—were hit with massive fines: 135 million hryvnias each.
