Germany’s international public broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, has been declared an “undesirable organization” in Russia, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced Sunday.
Authorities have been able to designate organizations “undesirable” since a 2015 law stated that any non-commercial body with foreign connections or funding that could potentially pose a threat to Russia’s constitutional order could be closed. This law was primarily used to shut down foreign NGOs and included the Moscow offices of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other NGOs.
In July 2024, the Parliament of Russia passed amendments to the law declaring that any organization with founders or participants who are foreign government agencies could be designated “undesirable”. This broadened which organizations could fall into that category, and many international media, research and civil society organizations have since been designated “undesirable”. By August 2024, members of the lower house of the Duma announced their intention to deem DW “undesirable”.
DW, which was classified as a “foreign agent” by the government of Russia in 2022, is funded by Germany’s federal budget. Although the Moscow bureau was closed in 2022, the “foreign agent” label has since been extended to individual DW journalists working in Russia.
The broadcaster joins the list of more than 280 organizations that have already been declared “undesirable”. This includes Russian-language media outlets such as the television channel TV Ren and the online publications Novaya Gazeta and Meduza.
‘undesirable’ designation of DW
Legal problems for DW viewers, listeners and followers in Russia begin when authorities define a person’s behavior as “participation in the activities of an undesirable organization,” said Ivan Pavlov, a Russian exiled lawyer and founder of the legal group Pervy Otdel (First Department).
This may include broadcasting or reposting written material on social networks.
“Even an old link to a publication of such a media outlet on one’s page can become grounds for initiating an administrative case,” Pavlov told DW. “And, subsequently, if something else is found after the administrative penalty, a criminal case.”
Even mentioning an “undesirable” organization in a public chat or website can lead to prosecution. People participating in the activities of “undesirable” organizations can be fined 5,000 to 15,000 Russian rubles (€53-€160/$63-$190).
May be grounds for criminal prosecution. Pavlov said, “If, after administrative punishment, the ‘offense’ is repeated within a year, criminal liability applies.”
Working for such an organization would have even more serious consequences. Managers of “undesirable” organizations face immediate criminal prosecution, as do those who, for example, finance them through donations. Individuals who participate in the production of an “undesirable” organization — such as by commenting for a written story or participating in a broadcast — could also be prosecuted, he said.
As far as social media is concerned, there has not been a regular practice of prosecuting a person for “liking” something belonging to an “undesirable” organization. “But, if there is a will,” said Pavlov, “one can probably make it suitable.”
Pavlov said it is still considered safe to subscribe to media pages declared “undesirable” on social media networks and read or view their publications without reposting anything.
For videos broadcast by “undesirable” organizations on platforms such as YouTube, Pavlov said, “Viewing is allowed; touching – which means distributing – is not.”
Based on what he and his colleagues have observed in similar cases, Pavlov said: “A repost, a hyperlink, a comment – all of these can be construed as participation in the activities of an ‘undesirable’ organization. Any payment to a media outlet designated ‘undesirable’ – for example, donations or payments for advertising – would also be considered a criminal offense.”
There are still ways to safely interact with an organization designated “undesirable” in Russia. These include installing a media outlet’s dedicated app on a smartphone, listening to podcasts and reading publications on a website, and commonly using a virtual private network, or VPN, to keep one’s location private.
Android users can Download DW Access App For safe browsing.
This article was originally written in Russian.