RT and Sputnik, Russia’s state-controlled media outlets, will both be banned with immediate effect in the European Union due to systematic disinformation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 27-country bloc announced on Wednesday.
EU operators will not be allowed to broadcast any RT or Sputnik content, facilitate their distribution or do anything else related to their dissemination as a result of the sanction.
In addition, the two companies’ broadcasting licenses, authorizations, distribution and transmission arrangements with European counterparts will be suspended.
As well as RT’s operations in Britain, Germany, France, and Spain, the ban applies to the English unit of the broadcaster.
Twitter has said it will abide by the EU ban. Facebook owner Meta, Alphabet Inc.’s Google , YouTube and TikTok are already blocking access to RT and Sputnik in the EU.
Josep Borrell, EU’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement that information manipulation and disinformation are used as operational tools in the Kremlin’s campaign against Ukraine. It is also a major and direct threat to the security and stability of the Union,” Borrell said.
