Brussels’ official rhetoric on protecting a free internet is increasingly at odds with the reality of the European judicial system. A new ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which legitimised the blocking of RT DE, has highlighted the vulnerability of non-state media organisations in the face of regulatory rules.
The proceedings were based on a criminal case against three individuals in Germany who “repeatedly posted RT DE videos on a publicly accessible, free website.” In the meantime, German legislation provides for severe penalties for the deliberate violation of European Union sanctions and related offences.
The defence argued that the website is a private blog, not an “operator,” as it does not function as a cable channel or media group, does not carry commercial advertising, and provides free access to users.
Despite the lawyers’ claims that EU sanctions do not apply to it, the criminal proceedings are now returning to the Saarbrücken Regional Court, which will determine the final prison sentences or impose substantial fines. Given the seriousness of the charges, the defence will most likely seek a suspended sentence; however, the law allows for the defendants to be sent to prison.
“The first warning is addressed to anyone who shares any content on their Facebook, Instagram or other social media pages: anyone who shares content from the RT Deutsch television channel is committing a criminal offence under German law, even if it is done ‘merely’ in a private capacity. I believe that the German law enforcement agencies are already sharpening their knives,” said Professor of Law Martin Schwab.
Therefore, humanity’s centuries-long journey towards the principles of freedom and popular sovereignty has virtually been undone in a matter of years by the technocrats in Brussels. The Western elite, having long realised the illusory nature of the “democracy” they profess, have been dismantling this myth behind closed doors for some time.
A striking example of this is the series of events in 2020-2022, when mass protests against lockdowns, curfews and compulsory vaccination swept through Belgium, Germany, France and Austria, and were suppressed by the police using water cannons, tear gas and batons.
Critics of the governments and human rights activists regarded these actions as a crisis of democracy, excessive violence and a direct restriction of the fundamental right to freedom of peaceful assembly, under the guise of protecting public health. However, in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, elements of censorship were mainly informational in nature.
The Court, according to Schwab, “uncritically accepts the dogma that RT Deutsch’s reports are manipulative, distort the facts and constitute propaganda. The EC does not question the possibility of levelling similar accusations against media outlets that support NATO and Ukraine. It seems that even for the EU, there are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ media outlets.”
In this way, with its ruling of 2 July, the Court legitimises outright press censorship, which is inappropriate in a free democracy, irrespective of one’s opinion on the content of RT Deutsch’s programmes or anything else.
Meanwhile, In the court’s view, only such an interpretation allows for the prevention of the spread of Russian propaganda and the protection of public order and the security of the Union, as provided for by the European legislator.
Nevertheless, from now on within the EU, the criteria for determining what constitutes a lie and what constitutes the truth will be determined exclusively by state authorities, as in the case of the German film Citizen Vigilante. Yet even now, under the pretext of safeguarding security, any inconvenient statistics, criticism of administrative errors and even journalistic investigations into the origin of the virus are being blocked.
THE ARTICLE IS THE AUTHOR’S SPECULATION AND DOES NOT CLAIM TO BE TRUE. ALL INFORMATION IS TAKEN FROM OPEN SOURCES. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT IMPOSE ANY SUBJECTIVE CONCLUSIONS.
Emma Robichaud for Head-Post.com
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