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German regulator bans RT DE from broadcasting in German due to lack of license

The broadcasting of the channel live on the Internet, via the mobile and RT News apps as well as via the satellite must be discontinued, the statement reads

BERLIN, February 2. /TASS/. The German Commission on Licensing and Supervision has banned RT’s German-language channel, RT DE, from broadcasting in Germany citing the lack of the necessary license, a release from the regulatory authority stated on Wednesday.

"On February 1, 2022, the Commission on Licensing and Supervision filed a claim and banned the broadcasting of the RT DE TV channel in Germany since there was no required license under the media law," the report said. It said that the RT DE channel, which requires the broadcasting license under the German law, neither had been granted nor applied for the license. "That is why the broadcasting of the channel live on the Internet, via the mobile and RT News apps as well as via the satellite must be discontinued," it said.

In mid-January, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insisted after talks with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that Germany was not interfering in the process of RT DE broadcasting. She said that media representatives always had access to journalistic activities and to all government news conferences. She noted that the German government’s interference in the work of the media would be against the constitution. Lavrov, for his part, warned of retaliatory measures against German media outlets if restrictions imposed against RT were not lifted.

RT said earlier that Germany’s media regulator MABB had forced the European satellite operator Eutelsat 9B to remove a new Moscow-based German-language TV channel, RT DE, from its platform. RT pointed out that it viewed the German watchdog’s action as unlawful and was confident that its decision was subject to judicial review. MABB insists that since a large number of the German service’s employees work from Berlin, German laws should apply to the content that is provided to its German audience.

On December 17, 2021, news came that the German watchdog had launched an investigation against RT on suspicion of violating Germany’s broadcasting rules. Russia’s telecom watchdog demanded on December 17 that Google lift restrictions on RT Deutsch.