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EU Court Confirms Blanket Ban on All RT Russian State Media Content
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The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that the EU ban on distributing content from Russian state broadcaster RT (Russia Today) applies to non-commercial websites that provide free access to such material, regardless of whether they generate profit or the specific content being distributed.
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the ruling, issued on July 2, clarifies the scope of EU sanctions introduced after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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The case was referred to the CJEU by a German court handling criminal proceedings against three individuals accused of repeatedly distributing videos produced by RT's German-language service through a publicly accessible website.
The German court sought clarification on whether administrators of a free website financed solely through user donations could be considered "operators" under the EU sanctions regime.
The CJEU concluded that the commercial nature of an activity is irrelevant when determining whether sanctions apply. According to the ruling, the term “operator” includes any individual or entity that directly or indirectly provides access to prohibited content, regardless of whether they receive financial benefit from doing so.
As reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the court also stated that neither the scale of distribution nor the duration of the transmission affects the application of the restrictions.
Judges said such a broad interpretation is necessary to achieve the objective of the EU sanctions regime—preventing the dissemination of Russian state propaganda and safeguarding public order and security within the European Union.
According to the outlet, the European Union prohibited the broadcasting and distribution of RT and several other Russian state-controlled media outlets in March 2022 as part of sanctions imposed in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The ruling comes amid continued scrutiny of RT and its former executives across Europe. In France, authorities have faced renewed questions over the decision to grant a ten-year residence permit in 2024 to Xenia Fedorova, a Russian national, former head of RT France, and current columnist for media outlets associated with the Bolloré group, according to a report by Le Monde.
Fedorova moved to France in 2017 to establish RT France after being dispatched from Moscow by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. She received a "talent passport" residence permit, a category intended for highly qualified foreign professionals, allowing her to head the broadcaster's French operations.
Her arrival in France quickly attracted political attention. Shortly after receiving press accreditation under the talent visa scheme, Fedorova questioned French President Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference with Putin at the Palace of Versailles, complaining that she had been denied access to Macron's presidential campaign headquarters.
In 2024, Fedorova applied to renew her residency despite tighter French rules governing foreign nationals deemed potential threats to public order. According to Le Monde, French authorities rejected more than 4,600 residence applications and revoked 2,255 residence permits on public security grounds that year. Nevertheless, Fedorova received a ten-year residence card.
Following media reports in March 2025 revealing the existence of the permit, the Paris Police Prefecture launched internal verification procedures. However, according to Le Monde, no comprehensive review of the decision has been initiated.
Earlier this year, the Financial Times named Margarita Simonyan, the Russian propagandist and head of Russia Today, among its most influential people of 2025, placing her in the publication's "Leaders" category.
In the accompanying profile, American journalist of Russian origin Julia Ioffe described Simonyan as one of the Kremlin's most devoted communicators, referring to her as the “most fiercely loyal messenger” and a “Valkyrie of propaganda.”
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