French media regulator Arcom (Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual & Digital Communication) is due to make a ruling on Eutelsat amid allegations that it has breached European sanctions on Russia and that the satellite operator continues to beam channels to Russia from its satellites.

“The process of investigating the cases reported to Arcom is nearing completion, and the authority’s college is due to rule very shortly on the actions to be taken,” stated Arcom.

According to the influential Comité Diderot, a French non-governmental organisation promoting the restoration of the free flow of information, without war propaganda, between Europe and Russia, those contracts do not comply with EU sanctions.

The alleged Russian contracts represent about 4 per cent of Eutelsat’s revenue.

Eutelsat in 2022 stopped broadcasting three Russian TV channels after Arcom urged it to do so, but it still has contracts with Russian companies such as the army’s broadcasting unit Zvezda and state media holding VGTRK. The French national assembly last week, while discussing the European Resolution for an increased support to Ukraine, adopted an amendment calling for Arcom to compel Eutelsat to respect the sanctions.

Arcom may issue a fine of up to 3 per cent of a company’s annual sales excluding tax, depending on the seriousness of the breach. If the same obligation is breached again, the threshold is raised to 5 per cent, according to the French Superior Audiovisual Council’s website.

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Categories: Articles, DTH/Satellite, Policy, Regulation

Tags: arcom, eutelsat, france, russia