TV broadcasting companies in Kosovo have started the withdrawal of Russian channels following a decision from the Independent Media Commission in the hopes of quelling the spread of Russian propaganda.
The decision came four days after Russian troops illegally invaded Ukraine, killing civilians and targeting civilian infrastructure, residential areas, and trying to besiege the capital.
The commission’s head, Faruk Rexhaj said, “the purpose of this decision is to prevent propaganda and protect public safety in the Republic of Kosovo. Taking into account the current situation, it must be understood that it is not intended to impede or violate the freedom of speech or freedom of the media.”
Channels, including RT have also been removed from the MTS network which operates primarily in the Serb-majority north.
“MTS from our monitoring shows that it has removed those channels, thus implementing the decision. Of course, for those operators who do not implement our decisions, legal procedures will be followed “, said Rexhaj.
Kosovo is following in the footsteps of a number of EU states who have taken similar action against Russian media.
On Sunday (27 February) the European Union announced more sanctions against Russia, including closing EU airspace and banning RT and Sputnik media outlets.
The European Commission must tread carefully however as in the name of press freedom and plurality, a solid legal basis must be used before action is taken.
“We attach great importance to media freedom. These are measures that are not taken lightly,” the Commission’s chief spokesman Eric Mamer acknowledged on Monday.
We are looking at the best legal way to ensure that we can achieve our objective,” he added, without elaborating.
Contacted by EURACTIV, Exit’s media partner, the European Commission said “work is ongoing on the technical details which will be presented in due course” and reported “close contact” with the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services (ERGA), which brings together the supervisory authorities of each member state.
It is expected that once the “best legal way” is found, EU countries will apply them individually in cooperation with each other.
The Sputnik news agency responded to the announcement by stating, “We advise the European Union not to stop at half measures and simply ban the internet.”
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian foreign ministry has called on Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook to ban Russian propaganda sites from the platform. Similar calls have been made to Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
