A typical provider of illegal TV content – a middle-aged man with experience in licensed distribution / Article

In the current geopolitical situation, the police is doing everything possible to prevent the spread of Kremlin narratives in Latvia. Last year, the State Police conducted 1,058 checks of the legality of audiovisual content. In 28 cases, cases of administrative violations have been initiated and 13 criminal proceedings have been initiated, while five criminal proceedings have been transferred to criminal prosecution, Polovinskis said.

In the first three months of this year, 294 checks of the legality of audiovisual content have already been carried out, starting 16 administrative violation cases and four criminal proceedings. Two cases have been referred for criminal prosecution.

According to Polovinski, the results of the work are good, and it is hoped that the police will keep the pace and the results will be even better in the future.

NEPLP chairman Ivars Āboliņš stated that the amendments to the law, which also provide for criminal liability for persons who provide illegal television services, have brought results, and persons avoid committing such a crime. Namely, the Criminal Law provides that persons can be punished with imprisonment from 3 to 6 years, but the police emphasized that forced labor or fines are usually applied in practice.

Āboliņš said: “It makes a big difference whether a person faces an administrative penalty or up to two years in prison. And we see that these amounts are decreasing in the police’s estimation. Last year we created a new department whose main task is to fight these violations. Last year’s results are such that we have restricted 132 websites and more than 300 content streaming sources, of which 87 for illegal rebroadcasting, 19 for endangering national security and 26 for violations of sanctions set by the European Union I would say that already after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we have significantly increased our presence with cable operators, because in 2022 serious violations were also detected, then last year only one violation was detected and it was also minor – a warning was issued about it.”

The State Police explained that the biggest criminals are not those who receive the Kremlin’s propaganda via satellite and watch this content in their homestead, but knowledgeable people who, by selling such prohibited content, make money from it.

Describing the people involved in the provision of these illegal services, Polovinsky said that it is usually a 35-40-year-old man with previous experience working for a company that provided Internet and television services. These maintainers have the ability to obtain equipment from Russia that provides access to illegal content. At the same time, these people provide customers with the ability to make a payment. Currently, however, payment is difficult, because it is difficult to pay bills “straight” from the European Union (EU).

At the same time, a new phenomenon has been observed, when illegal business operators provide the opportunity to connect to the product not only from Latvia, but also from other EU countries.

The police also pointed out that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the number of people who want to watch Kremlin propaganda has decreased, and it is also a misleading opinion that Latgale is the region that increasingly chooses such content. For example, in the first three months of 2024, 294 inspections of the legality of audiovisual content have already been carried out, of which 141 inspections were carried out in Riga, and 120 in Latgale. Police continue to monitor the situation.

“If we get information that a person provides this service, then we react, check. If necessary, we also conduct an investigation. Since this number is not large, it is not measured in hundreds. In each region, it could be 2-3 people, no more. There are regions where it is not even possible (..) It is clear to people that they do not want to actively support this aggression “NTV+”, which was before,” Polovinsky said.

Satellite dishes are no longer the biggest problem in the transmission or use of banned television channels, explained the head of NEPLP: “The biggest problem is the boxes. It must be understood that the satellite dishes are for a private house that supplies one household, but such boxes can supply the house of an entire residential block.”