A coalition of Dutch journalists, internet providers and civil society groups announced on Monday that they will be challenging the EU decision to ban RT and Sputnik before the European Court of Justice. While they don’t endorse the content of either outlet, the coalition said the hastily implemented censorship was undemocratic and raises constitutional questions.
The EU’s Council of Ministers banned RT and Sputnik on March 2, citing the conflict in Ukraine, and said it would remain in effect until Russia stops conducting “disinformation and information manipulation actions against the EU and its member states.”
That was a hasty political decision, undertaken “without doing justice to the freedom of information enshrined in human rights treaties, which is a foundation of our democracy,” the Dutch Association of Journalists (NVJ) said on Monday. The NVJ is joining with the Press Freedom Fund (Persvrijheidsfonds) and three internet service providers to challenge the ban before the Luxembourg-based ECJ, and will file the application on Tuesday, the group said.