A telecommunications regulator in the United Kingdom has revoked the broadcasting license of the Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT.
While RT was pulled by British broadcasters weeks ago due to concerns about misinformation amid the invasion of Ukraine, the station remained available via satellite. The revoking of Russia’s license by Ofcom makes it impossible for the station to begin broadcasting again.
“Today’s decision comes amid 29 ongoing investigations by Ofcom into the due impartiality of RT’s news and current affairs coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Ofcom said in a press statement. “We consider the volume and potentially serious nature of the issues raised within such a short period to be of great concern — especially given RT’s compliance history, which has seen the channel fined £200,000 for previous due impartiality breaches.”
Ofcom also noted Russia’s new law restricting journalism within its borders, rendering it seemingly “impossible for RT to comply with the due impartiality rules of [Ofcom’s] Broadcasting Code in the circumstances.”
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While Ofcom mentions the importance of a “broadcaster’s right to freedom of expression and the audience’s right to receive information and ideas without undue interference,” it also noted the “importance of maintaining audiences’ trust and public confidence in the UK’s broadcasting regulatory regime.”
The British Broadcasting Code requires that all broadcasters provide “due impartiality,” a clause RT has violated to the tune of 200,000 pounds, or more than $262,000, according to Ofcom.
RT was not pleased with the decision.
“Ofcom has shown the U.K. public and the regulatory community internationally that despite a well-constructed facade of independence, it is nothing more than a tool of government, bending to its media-suppressing will,” RT’s Deputy Editor in Chief Anna Belkina told Reuters.
“By ignoring RT’s completely clean record of four consecutive years and stating purely political reasons tied directly to the situation in Ukraine and yet completely unassociated to RT’s operations, structure, management or editorial output, Ofcom has falsely judged RT to not be ‘fit and proper’ and in doing so robbed the U.K. public of access to information,” Belkina added.
The Kremlin slammed the West’s “anti-Russian madness.”
“This is a continuation of the madness which is going on in America and Europe — it is anti-Russian madness,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov alleged while speaking to reporters on Friday. “This is yet another step that crudely limits freedom of speech.”
It is unclear whether Russia will consider reciprocating by barring British broadcasters, such as Sky News and the BBC, from distributing within its borders. When technology companies attempted to limit the spread of misinformation through state media outlets including RT and Sputnik, the Russian government cracked down on March 4 by blocking access to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
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The European Union imposed sanctions on RT on March 2, suspending all broadcasting activities by the Kremlin-backed broadcaster within EU borders.
While the Ofcom decision will limit RT’s access to U.K. broadcast platforms, the company’s content will still be visible online in the U.K.
