As of Wednesday, March 2, a European Union measure banning the distribution of the Russian state-owned disinformation channels Russia Today and Sputnik has been in force in the Czech Republic. This was stated by the Czech Broadcasting Council (RRTV). The Council of the European Union banned the spread of the above-mentioned Russian media on the territory of the European Union at the end of February with effect from March 2, 2022. The measures are thus binding on all countries of the European Union.

Sanctions apply to all means of transmission and distribution, such as cable, satellite, IPTV, platforms, websites and applications, as well as all their distributors, including broadcast providers.

According to the EU, Russia Today and Sputnik are crucial as a means of promoting and supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine. This poses a serious and direct threat to public order and security in the EU. "Both companies are involved in coordinated manipulation of information, including misinformation, as documented by the East StratCom working group at the European External Action Service since 2015," the EU said.

These measures should be maintained until the aggression against Ukraine is over and the Russian Federation and its affiliated media have put an end to propaganda actions against the Union and its member states, the EU said.

Several regulators in EU Member States have already taken action against Russian-controlled broadcasters and channels involved in disseminating and manipulating information (e.g. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland ). Germany has again banned the broadcasting of the German version of Russia Today due to a lack of a license.

Czech operators T-Mobile and O2 dropped the Russian state broadcasters last week. The internet association CZ.NIC also blocked eight pro-Russian disinformation websites with the suffix.cz.