The Russian channel RT DE wants to take legal action against the ban on broadcasting in Germany. The company RT DE Productions has approached the administrative court in Berlin with a request to lift the ban on broadcasting, the state television broadcaster announced in Moscow on Wednesday. The medium wants to win permission for the German-language TV program RT DE, which started in mid-December, by the Russian state medium RT. The lawsuit is directed against the German media regulators, who banned the broadcasting of RT DE last week due to a lack of a broadcasting license.
RT, formerly Russia Today, hopes the court will overturn the Berlin-Brandenburg media authority’s decision and allow the program to be broadcast. In Germany, a broadcasting license is required for nationwide TV programs. RT DE Productions pointed out that it only produces content. Rather, the television program was broadcast by the Moscow company TV-Novosti from the Russian capital – and not from Germany.
In response to the broadcasting ban on Thursday, the Moscow Foreign Ministry revoked the broadcasting license in Russia of Deutsche Welle, Germany’s foreign broadcaster. The DW office in Moscow was closed and journalists’ accreditations were revoked. For the DW reporters, this is tantamount to a work ban, while the RT representatives in Germany may continue to operate.