Latvia’s push-back of Russian broadcasts may backfire

The spring session of Latvia’s parliament or Saeima left local television service providers with around a year to cut back Russian language programming to at most 20 percent of any basic package offered to consumers.

The Saeima on June 12 passed a new law aimed at curbing alleged Russian propaganda broadcasts in a country where Russian still remains the first foreign language understood by much of the population and the mother tongue of a substantial minority.

The so-called 80–20 law, effective July 1, 2021 mandates that the cheapest TV package offered by a service provider be 80 percent in European Union (EU) languages and 20 percent in other languages.

Observers say the law reflects ongoing divisions in parts of Latvian society about the role of the so-called “Russian information space” and the Russian language almost 30 years after Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union. But some also caution that efforts to restrict Russian language broadcasts may backfire.

The law is yet another attempt to lessen the exposure of Russian speakers to what many lawmakers consider “Kremlin propaganda” that is skeptical of Latvia’s independence and of Western values. Latvia’s National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP), a broadcasting regulator and watchdog, has in recent years temporarily suspended some Russian channels for broadcasting incitements to ethnic hatred and warmongering.