(Reuters) - France's Arcom will rule on Eutelsat's compliance with European sanctions against Russia soon, the broadcasting authority told Reuters, following requests from several NGOs that it should take action against the satellite provider.
"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," it said in an emailed statement.
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.
According to Comité Diderot, a French non-governmental organization 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 contracts represent about 4% of Eutelsat's revenue, a company spokesperson said.
Contacted by Reuters, Eutelsat said that it respects regulators' decisions on international sanctions.
Arcom may issue a fine of up to 3% 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%, according to the French Superior Audiovisual Council's website.
Eutelsat reported 1.21 billion euros ($1.32 billion) in revenue in 2023-2024.
An article of the SREN law on digital security published in May 2024 gave Arcom the authority to ensure compliance with EU sanctions by French companies.
Arcom should have ordered all operators to stop broadcasting Kremlin war propaganda since this law was adopted, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in an emailed statement.
French national assembly on Wednesday, while discussing the European Resolution for an increased support to Ukraine, adopted an amendment calling for Arcom to compel Eutelsat to respect the sanctions.
($1 = 0.9173 euros)
(Reporting by Alban Kacher in Gdansk; editing by Milla Nissi and Davidn Evans)
