Latvian media regulator blocks 71 Russian news sites

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Riga (Latvia). - The Latvian broadcasting regulator will limit the access of Latvian users to 71 websites linked to Russian TV channels and other media on the grounds that they endanger national security You have decided to block it. Ivars Abolins, chairman of the National Council for Electronic Mass Media (NEPLP), advanced the ban in news broadcast on Latvian public television on Tuesday. He said that the regulator decided to block the website because “NEPLP does not see the possibility that such a page will be available on the territory of Latvia under these circumstances,” and therefore, Russia's I mentioned the invasion of Ukraine. As of today, the regulator has not yet released an official statement listing the websites to be blocked, but 18 of Russia that it removed from Latvian cable and terrestrial television networks on March 7 It is expected to be linked to the channel. Until now, users can access the channel's web page or via satellite receiver, bypass the broadcast ban of such networks accused of broadcasting war propaganda and inciting ethnic hatred I was able to According to NEPLP to local media, due to recent legislative changes, regulators have the power to block access to websites and punish individual users for accessing prohibited content It's there. This can affect, for example, users who own satellite receivers or decoding devices at home. Abolins said other pages could be added to the list of 71 banned websites as regulators continue to investigate content that poses a potential threat to national security. Before banning the broadcasting of all 18 channels in Russia on March 7, the regulator had already stopped broadcasting Rossiya RTR, Rossiya 24 and the TV Center on February 24, when the invasion began. Public television in Latvia offers Russian-language content to the Russian-speaking minority that does not reflect Moscow's point of view, but the nationalist party, which is part of the ruling coalition, is not an independent Russian language It is opposed to the creation of the service and the increase in local media financing. This content argues the need to maintain Latvian as the sole language of the state. Chief JKZ/CPH/JGB