Application of a media-restricting law

The Communications Commission is accusing ‘Formula’ of an alleged content regulation violation for the third time

For the third time, the Communications Commission is disputing an alleged violation of the “Law on Broadcasting” by the television company “Formula.” The Commission discussed the issue at its July 17 session and fined “Formula” 5,000 GEL.

According to the Commission’s assessment, “Formula” violated Article 54 of the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting – “Fairness and Impartiality.” According to the official report, the monitoring of the 17:00 broadcasts of Formula News was conducted between June 15 and 17. The Commission considers that journalists in these news broadcasts occasionally expressed personal opinions and attitudes regarding current events, as “Formula” systematically uses phrases in the disputed segments such as: “the ‘Dream’ government,” “the ‘Georgian Dream’ President,” “‘Dream’s’ Prosecutor’s Office,” “‘Dream’s’ Prime Minister,” “‘Dream’s’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” “repressive laws,” and “repressions of the ‘Dream’ regime.”

At this stage, the Commission only applied a fine and did not resort to an alternative sanction, which, according to the legislation, involves suspending the television station’s broadcasting authorization. If the Commission establishes another violation by “Formula,” it will again be authorized to consider suspending the station’s broadcasting authorization or imposing an increased fine—not less than 10,000 GEL and not exceeding 3% of the company’s annual income. For the use of similar terms, the Communications Commission had already fined “Formula” 2,500 GEL on May 21 for violating the same article.

The case is being considered against the backdrop of recent, controversial amendments to the “Law on Broadcasting” concerning the content regulation of broadcasters. Under these amendments, expressing personal positions is restricted in news programs and during the coverage of public policy issues (with the exception of author-driven editorial programs). Additionally, new rules were established regarding the right of reply and the gathering and dissemination of information through covert methods.

On March 6, the Communications Commission announced that it would begin enforcing the norms established by the “Law on Broadcasting” and the “Broadcasters’ Code of Conduct” in practice and would start monitoring broadcasters. At the time, the Commission pointed out that for almost a year, it had only reacted to complaints and had not initiated administrative proceedings against broadcasters on its own initiative.

Communications Commission Accuses “TV Pirveli” of Legal Violations Over Words and Phrases Used On-Air

The Communications Commission accuses “TV Pirveli” of violating the Law on Broadcasting due to the use of words and phrases such as “prisoners of conscience,” “false witness police officers,” “oligarch,” and “political prisoners.”

The case is being reviewed against the backdrop of tightened content regulations for broadcasters following amendments to the Law on Broadcasting passed by “Georgian Dream.” The changes include, among other things, restricting the expression of positions in news and public-political programs, new rules for the right of reply, and defining standards for covert recording.

The Communications Commission had previously announced that it would put into practice the norms established by the Law on Broadcasting and the “Broadcasters’ Code of Conduct” and would begin monitoring broadcasters. This announcement closely followed the United Kingdom’s sanctioning of the government-propaganda channels “Imedi” and POSTV.

According to the Commission, the monitoring targeted news programs broadcast between May 11 and May 13. The Commission deemed that the broadcaster covered current issues of public policy based on personal attitudes or opinions, and expressed a supportive or opposing position toward political or other interest groups. The Commission reviewed the case during its session on June 18, and the decision will be made public in one week.

Communications Commission Issues Written Warnings to Four TV Stations

The Communications Commission has issued written warnings to four television stations, including two pro-government channels, for violating the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting. The channels involved are the government-critical outlets Formula and TV Pirveli, as well as pro-government broadcasters POSTV and Imedi. The Commission issued the warnings based on violations of articles concerning content regulation.

According to ComCom, the issue was placed on the agenda following its own media monitoring. The stations were accused of failing to meet standards regarding impartiality, balance, reporting based on personal attitudes/opinions, and factual accuracy. For instance, the Commission determined that by using phrases such as “Dream’s Prosecutor’s Office,” “Dream’s Parliament,” “Ivanishvili’s Prime Minister,” “Rajden Kuprashvili’s agency,” “with members of the Dream government,” and “judicial clan,” Formula covered issues based on the broadcaster’s personal attitude or opinion in its news programming, thereby violating the law.

During the monitoring process, ComCom’s Media Services Regulation Department “discovered” the highest number of potential violations at the independent channels—20 for Formula and 18 for TV Pirveli. The lowest number of violations were attributed to the pro-government outlets: Imedi (4 violations), which has been sanctioned for spreading Russian disinformation, and POSTV (7 violations).

On this occasion, the Communications Commission limited its response to written warnings on the grounds that none of these television stations had been sanctioned for similar violations within the past year.

It is worth noting that in early March, following the sanctioning of pro-government Imedi and POSTV, ComCom released a threatening statement announcing it would begin monitoring broadcaster content starting in March. Last year, Georgian Dream passed repressive amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, which are linked to the regulation of broadcaster content.

Communications Commission Announces Practical Enforcement of Norms Established by the Law on Broadcasting and the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters

The Communications Commission has announced that starting next week—March 9—it will begin the practical enforcement of the norms established by the Law on Broadcasting and the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters and will initiate monitoring of broadcasters.

The initiative to activate monitoring of the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters and the Law on Broadcasting was adopted by ComCom shortly after the United Kingdom sanctioned the government-affiliated propaganda outlets Imedi and POSTV. The agency considers that the sanctioning of these television stations is “aimed both at restricting fair competition among mass media outlets and hindering the professional activities of journalists, which could pose a threat to media pluralism and freedom of speech in the country.”

The Communications Commission cites the Law on Broadcasting and the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters, stating that these acts mandate the Commission to ensure the protection of objectivity standards in the media. According to their statement, despite the existence of the law, for nearly a year the Commission has only responded to complaints and has not initiated administrative proceedings against broadcasters on its own under this law.

“Given the above and based on the analysis of the challenges in the media environment, we consider it necessary for the Commission to bring into practice the norms established by the Law on Broadcasting and the Code of Conduct for Broadcasters starting next week. This is to ensure that the objectivity of broadcasters is assessed based on proper procedures and high legal standards,” the statement reads.

Last year, “Georgian Dream” passed repressive amendments to the Law on Broadcasting. These changes relate to the regulation of broadcaster content. According to the amendments:

The expression of opinion is restricted in news programs as well as during the coverage of other public policy issues (excluding author programs);
A person against whom accusations have been made in a program must be given the opportunity to provide a timely and proper response. The response must be covered fairly and accurately;
The law defines all instances in which obtaining and/or transmitting information using undercover methods is justified; additionally, a standard for undercover recording on private property was established.

The Media Advocacy Coalition has responded to the statement released by the Communications Commission, believing that it contains clear signals regarding potential pressure and threats against independent media. “It is particularly problematic that the Commission, which by law should be an independent regulator and a guarantor of media freedom, creates the impression with its own statement that it is ready to use regulatory mechanisms as an instrument for evaluating and controlling the editorial activities of the media,” the statement says.

The Charter of Journalistic Ethics urges the National Communications Commission to refrain from evaluating content-related issues that fall within the scope of editorial independence and which, according to Georgian tradition and international practice, are subjects of self-regulation. Any other approach, even if based on the recent controversial changes to the Law on Broadcasting, will be viewed by the journalistic community as an attempt to impose censorship and a gross interference in the editorial independence of broadcasters.

The Communications Commission issued a verbal warning to ‘Radio Marneuli’

On January 22, the Communications Commission issued a written warning to “Radio Marneuli” over receiving a grant. The Commission’s decision was based on the repressive amendments to the Law on Broadcasting, which prohibit media outlets from receiving grants from donor organizations.

The Commission’s statement noted that the media outlet had received a grant of 32,542 GEL from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

“The funds were received as part of a grant project and did not fall under the exceptions defined by the Law on Broadcasting, such as commercial advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship, or product placement in programming,” the statement said.

This is the second warning issued to “Radio Marneuli.”

In the first case, the Commission had warned the media outlet over a grant received from Deutsche Welle.

A series of repressive laws were passed by the Parliament under the ruling party, Georgian Dream, including a provision effective from April 1, 2025, banning direct or indirect funding of broadcasters from “foreign forces.”

The amendments were immediately criticized by civil society and independent media, as the provision could be used as a tool to restrict the financial and editorial independence of independent media.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau is requesting information about grants from the publication “Indigo”

On November 11, 2025, the publication “Indigo” released a statement from which it became clear that the Anti-Corruption Bureau had initiated proceedings against them based on the so-called Law on Grants adopted by “Georgian Dream.” “Since our entire activity is based on open communication and only your trust, we want you to know this news as well. Obviously, we continue and serve the mission that created us—we continue working for free speech and expression, for free thoughts and ideas,” the publication writes.

The amendments to the “Law on Grants” are one of the repressive changes adopted by the “Georgian Dream” parliament in recent months to restrict the media. The law came into force in April. These amendments prohibited the issuance of foreign grants without the permission of the government. A grant received without consent leads to a fine equal to double the amount of the grant received.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau carries out the monitoring of the issuance and receipt of grants. This agency has already initiated proceedings against several media outlets based on this law, including: “Project 64,” the investigative media “iFact,” the publication “Mountain News,” GMC, which manages the publications “Realpolitika” and “Flangvis Detector” (Waste Detector), Georgian Media Group, and also the organization working on media rights, the “Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics.”

In addition to media outlets, the Anti-Corruption Bureau is requesting information about grants from civil and non-governmental organizations as well; in total, the agency’s letter has been received by more than 60 organizations, including member organizations of the “Media Advocacy Coalition.”

Communications Commission begins enforcing new media regulations

On October 9, 2025, the Communications Commission issued a written warning to the television broadcasters “Formula” and “Formula Multimedia”, as well as the radio broadcasters “Journalists’ Union Khalkis Khma”, “Radio-TV Nori” and “Systema Gama” and ordered them to cease receiving funding from foreign powers for violating the Law of Georgia “On Broadcasting”.

According to the Commission’s statement: “Based on the fact that the broadcasters have received the above-mentioned funding after the law was amended and funding from foreign powers was prohibited, and the funding cannot be used in exceptional cases specified by law (commercial advertising, teleshopping, sponsorship or product placement in the program)”, the Commission considered the broadcasters to be violators of the law.

This is the first precedent for the enforcement of the law, which concerns the new regulation included in the Law on Broadcasting, which prohibits direct or indirect funding of a broadcaster from a foreign power from April 1, 2025. Since the date of adoption, the amendments have caused public discussion and criticism, in particular, assessments that the new norm may become a tool for restricting the financial and editorial freedom of independent media. During the session, representatives of radio broadcasters noted that without the aforementioned funding, they may have to stop broadcasting.

Anti-Corruption Bureau requests information from media to enforce repressive laws

Since May 2025, after the repressive laws came into force, the Anti-Corruption Bureau has requested large amounts of information from more than 60 non-governmental organizations, including several media outlets. The basis for this request is the Law on Grants. The Georgian Dream adopted an amendment to the Law on Grants on April 16, 2025. According to the amendments, the grantor (donor) must apply to the Government of Georgia for consent to issue a grant; the grantee, if receiving a grant without consent, will be fined double the amount of the grant.

On September 29, Razhden Kuprashvili’s bureau applied to the independent investigative journalism association iFact and GMC and requested information about grants, donors, financial transactions and contracts.

Previously, on September 26, Kuprashvili’s bureau sent a letter to the publication “Mountain News”.

“You are in a hurry to put us down. The answer is urgent! We will continue our work! “To create investigative films about government violations of laws, corruption, environmental destruction, and violations of fundamental human rights,” wrote Gela Mtivlishvili, founder and editor-in-chief of “Mountain News.”

On September 28, “Mountain Community” received a letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau with the same demands. Nugzar Suaridze, the organization’s director, wrote about this on Facebook.

Project 64 also received a letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau. “We have never faced a crisis of this magnitude, and this is not just a financial crisis,” said Giorgi Gogua, editor-in-chief of Project 64.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau also sent a letter to the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics.

“The proceeding initiated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau is the first practical step under the new legislation to destroy a highly reputable organization, created through the great efforts of many good journalists,” — reads the statement of the Charter of Journalistic Ethics.

“Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics” will not be able to monitor election-related coverage this year

The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics announced that, for the first time since 2012, it will not be able to monitor how media outlets cover election-related issues during the election period. In its statement, the Charter cited repressive legislation adopted by Georgian Dream as the reason.

Amid pro-European protest rallies, Georgian Dream passed several laws which, according to assessments by local and international organizations, significantly restrict independent media organizations.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau is requesting information about grants from member organizations of the “Media Advocacy Coalition”

On August 11, 2025, several non-governmental organizations four of which are members of the Media Advocacy Coalition received another letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau accusing them of violating the “Foreign Agents Registration Act” (FARA). The organizations concerned are the Civil Society Foundation, Transparency International Georgia, the Media Development Foundation, and the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED).

“They are threatening us with criminal liability and demanding explanations as to why we did not register as agents,” the organizations said in a joint statement.

According to members of the coalition, FARA does not apply to them, and they do not intend to comply with what they call “Russian laws.”

“Our mission is election observation, exposing corruption and disinformation, defending democracy, and assisting the Georgian people,” the organizations stated.

The NGOs first received a letter from the Anti-Corruption Bureau in June 2025.

The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), of which the Media Development Foundation is a member, condemned the harassment of fact-checkers and civil society in Georgia.
“The investigations launched by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, as well as the threat of criminal liability under the so-called foreign agents law, represent an alarming escalation against organizations that provide the public with reliable information,” the IFCN said in a statement.