Rutube, which received the request for moderation, is owned by Russian Gazprom-Media and this company is completely controlled by the government. Channel 24 explains how this request was answered.

What did Rutube say?

We are talking about the following channels:

• Russia RTR,
• Russia 24,
• TV Center International (TVCI).

Gazprom-Media stated that the video platform refused to impose restrictions.

Rutube does not plan to impose restrictions on the distribution of Russian TV channels. The Russian-speaking population of Latvia has the right to access objective information about what is happening in Russia and the world. We consider that attempts to block the Russian media violate the rights of the Russian-speaking population and violate the principles of the European Press Freedom Convention. The report states: “Freedom of the press is vital to a democratic society. Every government has a duty to support, protect and respect all media in all its diversity, as well as its political, social and cultural missions. The people of every state, all national and foreign media and information granting free access to resources,
– wrote on the official telegram channel.

Now, as promised by the Latvian side, the regulator will “take into account the need” to restrict access to the service in the country.