Telecom companies lift sanctions against Russian media – Danes can still access banned pages

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, decisions were made on the EU side to sanction a series of Russian media.

In practice, this means that Danish teleoperators should block the Russian media from the EU's sanctions list, including the two Russian state media RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik.

However, it has been proven that DR-program K-Live was able to access both RT and Sputnik and their subsites via a number of large Danish teleproviders.

Even without doing anything other than entering the web addresses of the two large Russian media.

Lars Brodersen, who is a lawyer specializing in sanctions and export control, calls it a breach of EU sanctions.

In 2022, a ban was implemented for operators against transmitting or facilitating or in any other way contributing to the transmission of content from precisely RT and Sputnik.

- So if it is accessible via Danish operators, it is a violation, says Lars Brodersen.

It is among other things proven that K-Live was able to access the two sanctioned Russian state media through the teleprovider Norlys, which owns Telia. (Photo: © Ida Marie Odgaard, Ritzau Scanpix)

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Telecommunications companies follow EU’s sanctions list

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It is precisely the telecommunications companies that have the responsibility for blocking the Russian media from the EU's sanctions list, so that homepages are no longer accessible.

Even though K-Live has proven that RT and Sputnik are still accessible via a number of large Danish teleproviders, the telecommunications companies claim that they are doing what they can to follow the EU's sanctions list. But it is difficult for them to keep up, they say.

For the two Russian media, they make use of several different web addresses - also more than those that appear on the sanctions list that the telecommunications companies have received.

Both Norlys, Telecom Denmark 3 and Telenor report that they have blocked access to all the homepages that appear on a list they have received from the authorities. But not those that DR has visited.

- When the relevant site is not blocked, it is because it does not appear on the list from the authorities, writes Norlys.

Telenor writes that the Digitalization Authority sends and maintains the lists of homepages that the telecommunications companies should block.

- As a telecommunications company, we have neither the practical possibility of identifying or the authority to block other sites other than those mentioned on this list, writes Telenor.

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> Russia wants to influence and move voter groups and bring about outcomes that suit Russia. RT and Sputnik are central.

> Flemming Splidsboel, senior researcher at DIIS

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Media pose a threat

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The state-owned Russian media ended up on the EU's sanctions list because they, according to the EU, pose a serious threat.

Previously, the head of the EU's common foreign and security policy, Kaja Kallas, also gave a speech in which she explained how such media are a "ball against the heart of democracy."

And according to Flemming Splidsboel, who is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) and one of Denmark's leading Russia experts, disinformation from the media is part of a very conscious state Russian strategy aimed at influencing various information spaces.

- Russia wants to influence and move voter groups and bring about outcomes that suit Russia. RT and Sputnik are central, says Flemming Splidsboel.

- We are facing a challenge, an opponent - most recently referred to as a political enemy - who actively tries to influence us through lies and manipulation, says Flemming Splidsboel, senior researcher at DIIS. (Photo: © Mads Claus Rasmussen, Ritzau Scanpix)

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'We do what we can'

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Søren Johansen, who is the chairman of Teleindustrien – the telecommunications industry's trade association – acknowledges that Teleindustrien has a responsibility for ensuring that the two Russian state media are blocked in Denmark.

RT and Sputnik have, as mentioned, not only one homepage each – they have many other homepages under different names and many subsites, and this is what challenges Teleindustrien.

Søren Johansen believes that the regulation is problematic because it is set up in a way that makes the telecommunications companies themselves have to search all the world's homepages to see where the Russian state media are hiding.

- Therefore, we asked the responsible authority for guidance in this process. We got it with this list, and we are living up to it as well as we can, says Søren Johansen.

DR is in possession of a letter that the Ministry of Culture has sent to the director of Teleindustriens about the order, and in the letter it is stated that the sanctions list from the EU is not exhaustive.

The Ministry has informed DR that it is the responsibility of the telecommunications companies to ensure that RT and Sputnik's various homepages are blocked - also those that are not on the sanctions list.

Why don't you live up to your responsibility?

- They can always hide. The three homepages that you have referred to, we have informed the Digitalization Authority about and said that they may also need to be added to the list. So we do what we can to expand this list, says Søren Johansen.

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> It is the responsibility of the operators to ensure that the order is complied with by blocking content from the affected Russian media.

> Jakob Engel Schmidt, Culture Minister

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The Ministry of Culture acknowledges challenges

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It is the Ministry of Culture that has the responsibility for ensuring that the ban on broadcasting content from the Russian media is enforced.

They acknowledge that Teleindustrien earlier drew the Ministry's attention to practical challenges in banning content from the Russian media.

This has been passed on to the EU Commission. But, adds Culture Minister Jakob Engel Schmidt (M):

- It does not change the fact that it is the responsibility of the operators to ensure that the order is complied with by blocking content from the affected Russian media.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.