Russia will have to retaliate for Germany’s decision to ban the German-language service of Russian broadcaster RT, and the response will impact German media accredited in Russia, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Germany’s MABB media watchdog and Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) of media institutions said on Wednesday that RT DE needed a license that conformed with Germany’s State Media Treaty and could not replace it with a different license.
RT said it will go to court over the decision.
In December, YouTube had removed RT DE, saying it violated community standards, and the MABB media watchdog for Berlin and the state of Brandenburg ruled RT DE was not eligible to broadcast in Germany for licensing reasons.
The ban led to Eutelsat removing RT Deutsch from the list of channels broadcast from its satellites, though the broadcaster continued to stream content on its website.
RT DE, which had until the end of 2021 to respond to the proceedings, said on its website that it had a Serbian license that allowed it to broadcast in Germany under a European convention on trans-frontier television.
Read more:
Germany eyes new LNC terminals as alternative to Russian gas
Putin says West has ‘ignored’ Russia’s security concerns over Ukraine
Russia says it will not back down on Ukraine in face of US sanctions threats
