Latvian Saeima restricts Russian-language content in public media — LSM English

The Latvian Saeima has adopted amendments under which Latvian Public Media will be able to create content in Russian only in exceptional cases. The decision was supported by 55 lawmakers on October 1, while 24 voted against, LSM English reports.

When Russian-language content will be allowed

The law provides that materials in languages recognized as self-sufficient, including Russian, may be produced in the event of an emergency situation, during a state of emergency, or to refute disinformation. This applies only to information that is misleading, false, and poses a threat to democracy and the state as a whole.

In such cases, public media must adhere to the principle of proportionality and take into account the intensity and nature of the threat to national security. Latvian Television and Latvian Radio no longer broadcast in Russian, but the LSM.lv portal still produces materials in this language.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Constitutional Court decision

Previously, public media were required to produce programs in minority languages. However, Latvia's Constitutional Court ruled that LSM content must primarily be in Latvian. The court also stated that Russian is self-sufficient in the country's media space, so the state should not provide it with special support.

At the same time, the court stressed the need to take into account the interests of other minority languages that are not self-sufficient. Latvia's Public Electronic Media Council proposed a different mechanism for implementing the court's ruling: to explain and justify foreign-language content annually when forming the public service remit. The council considered the political amendments a threat to the independence of public media, while the Saeima's legal bureau stated that its approach was more consistent with the Constitutional Court's conclusions.

The law must still be promulgated by the President of Latvia. It is scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2027.