EU to ban Russia’s RT, Sputnik media outlets
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Sunday that Kremlin-backed RT, formerly known as Russia Today, and Sputnik, would be banned in the EU.
"We will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war," she said.
"We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe," von der Leyen added, without providing more details.
Kremlin-backed media have been under increased pressure in Europe since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Poland and Estonia regulators have in recent days banned Russian TV broadcasters while Western countries including the U.K. and France have renewed scrutiny on RT. The power to shut down broadcasters is in the hands of national regulators.
