MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia will retaliate against Germany for banning the German-language service of Russian broadcaster RT, and the response will impact German media accredited in Russia and internet “intermediaries”, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
Germany’s MABB media watchdog and Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) of media institutions said on Wednesday that RT DE needed a licence that conformed with Germany’s State Media Treaty and could not replace it with a different licence.
“This move deprives us of any choice but to embark on retaliatory measures against German media accredited in Russia, as well as against internet intermediaries that have voluntarily and groundlessly deleted accounts of the TV channel from their platforms,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
RT said it will go to court over the German decision.
In December, YouTube had removed RT DE, saying it violated community standards, and the MABB media watchdog for Berlin and the state of Brandenburg ruled RT DE was not eligible to broadcast in Germany for licensing reasons.
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