Websites of banned Russian media can still be easily accessed across the EU in the “overwhelming majority” of cases, experts said Tuesday, criticising the bloc’s “failure” to publish up-to-date guidance.
After February 2022, EU authorities banned Kremlin-controlled media from transmitting in the bloc, including online, to counter “disinformation.”
But more than three years on, “sanctioned outlets are largely still active and accessible” across member states, according to a report released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a London-based think tank.
EU sanctions banned RT, previously known as Russia Today, and Sputnik media organisations, as well as other state-controlled channels, news agencies and newspapers accused of “information warfare.”
EU member states are each responsible for ensuring blocks are applied by internet service providers (ISPs).
The ISD report criticised the European Commission for its “failure” to maintain a “definitive list of different domain iterations”—or website addresses—used by each sanctioned entity.
It urged the Commission to provide a “continuously updated and publicly accessible list” of all relevant domains and include it in sanctions packages and on its online sanctions dashboard to speed up enforcement.
