Fines

The Communications Commission fined the TV channel “Formula” for the third time on the grounds of violating the “Law on Broadcasting”.

On October 1, 2026, on the grounds of violating the “Law on Broadcasting,” the Communications Commission fined the TV channel “Formula” for the third time, this time with a 10,000 GEL penalty.

According to the Communications Commission’s statement, the issue concerns “violations” identified as a result of monitoring conducted from September 14 to 16. The agency considers the channel’s use of evaluative terms in live broadcasts and news reports to be a breach of content regulation. In its official statement, the Communications Commission did not specify which exact terms were in question this time. However, in the previous two instances, the channel was fined for using terms such as: “the ‘Dream’ government,” “the ‘Georgian Dream’ president,” “the ‘Dream’ Prosecutor’s Office,” “the ‘Dream’ Prime Minister,” “the ‘Dream’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” “repressive laws,” and “repressions of the ‘Dream’ regime.”

Over the past year, since the Communications Commission began monitoring the content of broadcasters, inquiries against “Formula” have been launched four times. In the first instance, the channel was issued a written warning; in the second instance, it was fined 2,500 GEL; and the third proceeding concluded with a 5,000 GEL fine. Since this was the fourth case overall, according to the Law of Georgia “On Broadcasting,” the channel had to be subjected to a fine not exceeding 3% of its annual revenue, but no less than 10,000 GEL. Consequently, the third fine was set at 10,000 GEL.

ComCom Fines TV Pirveli for Second Content Violation

The Communications Commission (ComCom) has fined TV Pirveli for the second time for violating provisions of the Law on Broadcasting related to content regulation. The broadcaster was fined GEL 5,000.

The case was considered under amendments to the Law on Broadcasting adopted by Georgian Dream, which significantly tightened content-regulation requirements for broadcasters. Among other provisions, the amendments introduced restrictions on the expression of editorial positions in news and socio-political programs, new rules governing the right of reply, and standards related to covert recording.

The Commission’s monitoring covered news broadcasts aired on July 27–28. According to ComCom, the broadcasts contained instances in which news was presented through personal attitudes or opinions and factual information was not reported with sufficient accuracy. The Commission identified expressions such as “organized a big hunt,” “scroll-screen agency,” “Chechen-type squad,” “hunting activists,” and “the police were fooled by their nerves” as problematic.

ComCom specifically found a violation in the report “People Have Begun to Be Detained,” aired during TV Pirveli’s 20:00 news broadcast on July 27. According to the Commission, the journalist’s interpretation of a conversation between police officers failed to meet the required standard of factual accuracy.

Currently, TV Pirveli and Formula have each received two fines under the content-regulation provisions. If ComCom finds another violation by TV Pirveli, it will have the authority to consider suspending the broadcaster’s authorization or imposing a higher fine of no less than GEL 10,000 and no more than 3% of the company’s annual revenue.

According to the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics, ComCom continues to exert pressure on television broadcasters over the use of terminology deemed unacceptable by Georgian Dream. The Charter argues that, following the amendments to the Law on Broadcasting adopted in March 2025, the Commission has increasingly used proactive media monitoring as an instrument of pressure on editorial policy, undermining broadcasters’ ability to maintain independent editorial decision-making.

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.

TV Host Vakho Sanaia Fined Over Social Media Posts

Tbilisi City Court Judge Tornike Kochkian has fined Vakho Sanaia, a journalist and TV host for the “Formula” television company, 6,000 GEL for opinions he expressed on a social network. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) accused the journalist of insulting state political officials. Social media posts published by Vakho Sanaia regarding the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia, Shalva Papuashvili, and Member of Parliament, Lado Bozhadze, were ruled to be administrative offenses.

Sanaia had already been fined 4,000 GEL once before for an opinion expressed on a social network. Therefore, the judge made the decision in accordance with the article designated for a repeat offense.

Administrative disputes against citizens for opinions expressed in public spaces are initiated based on protocols from the newly established “Department for the Fight Against Hate Speech” within the MIA. This new department has been operational within the Ministry of Internal Affairs since June 1. The department’s task is to monitor and proactively detect statements in the public sphere that damage human dignity, are insulting, or contain hate speech, provided they show signs of an administrative offense.

According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, between its launch and July 2, this department identified 170 alleged offenses, 150 of which have already been submitted to the court. Out of these 150 cases, decisions have already been made on 33—resulting in 31 individuals being fined and two receiving verbal warnings. The majority of those fined are citizens and activists. Vakho Sanaia is the first journalist to be fined based on a protocol from this department.

Communications Commission Fines “TV Pirveli” 2,500 Lari

On June 25, the National Communications Commission fined “TV Pirveli.” The regulatory body accuses the television station of violating Article 54, Paragraph 5 of the Law on Broadcasting, which carries a fine of 2,500 GEL. The Commission is fining the channel for using terms such as “oligarch,” “Ivanishvili’s regime,” “non-existent crime,” “Georgian Dream’s investigation,” “false witness,” and others.

The first instance of a television station being fined under this rule occurred on May 21, when a 2,500 GEL sanction was imposed on “Formula” TV.

The Media Advocacy Coalition responded to the fines levied against the TV channels, stating: “The Communications Commission is fully cementing its role as an organ of censorship. The Commission continues to enforce repressive legislation.”

According to the Law on Broadcasting, following an initial 2,500 GEL fine, if the violator continues a continuous violation and/or commits a new, one-time violation within one year of being fined, the Commission is authorized to impose a fine of up to 1% of the broadcaster’s annual income (but no less than 5,000 GEL), or initiate public administrative proceedings to suspend its license or authorization.

Communications Commission Fines TV Company “Formula” 2,500 GEL

The Georgian Communications Commission found TV Company “Formula” in violation of the Law of Georgia “On Broadcasting” and imposed a fine of 2,500 GEL as a sanction.

The Commission initiated the proceedings based on its own media monitoring conducted during the month of April. The Communications Commission determined that “Formula” violated newly introduced articles of the broadcasting law that regulate content-related issues specifically, Paragraphs 1, 4, and 5 of Article 54. The Commission fined “Formula” for using phrases in its news programs such as “the head of the Georgian Dream government,” “Ivanishvili’s regime,” “the regime’s prosecutor’s office,” “the Dream’s prime minister,” and other similar terms. Additionally, it deemed the broadcast of a report about children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy without a comment from the Ministry of Health as problematic, ruling it a violation of the requirement to maintain balance.

“Given that TV Company ‘Formula’ had already received a written warning for a similar violation within the past year, the Communications Commission imposed the minimum fine of 2,500 GEL on the broadcaster in accordance with the Law of Georgia ‘On Broadcasting,'” reads the statement from the Communications Commission. “Formula,” alongside other television networks, received the initial written warning on April 8. In that instance as well, the Commission raised identical issues against the channel.

“The attempt to normalize censorship and interfere in editorial affairs is evident,” stated the Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics in its assessment of the incident, expressing deep concern over this growing trend.

Journalists’ Accounts Frozen Without Prior Notice of Fines

On April 15, according to TV Pirveli, the bank accounts of Maka Chikhladze, a journalist for the channel’s Saturday broadcast, were frozen. On social media, Irakli Datunashvili (known online as Leo Nafta), the Georgia editor for the online publication JamNews, also wrote that his bank accounts had been frozen. According to his information, the basis for the freeze is cited as a fine from October 15, the existence of which he had not been informed of until now.

According to Nodar Meladze, head of the news service, Maka Chikhladze was covering ongoing events on Rustaveli Avenue in the line of professional duty on October 15, 2025, which led to her being fined 5,000 GEL on charges of “artificially blocking the road.” He stated that the journalist was not notified of this fine and subsequently had her accounts frozen.

Maka Chikhladze herself states that she only learned about the existence of the fine after her accounts were frozen.

“In such a large agency as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they couldn’t find the resources to send me a single SMS… if they had simply notified me that I had been fined, I would have looked into it and proven that I was performing my professional duties. I didn’t know about it until my accounts were frozen,” Chikhladze said.

In her assessment, the case may be related to her journalistic activities. “I believe this is an act of revenge and has nothing to do with the law on assembly and manifestation or any actual violation,” she noted. Chikhladze also points out that representatives of other media outlets were also working at the scene, yet she was the only one targeted with a fine.

On December 7, 2024, on Besiki Street in Tbilisi, TV Pirveli journalist Maka Chikhladze and cameraman Giorgi Shetsiruli were attacked and physically assaulted by unidentified masked individuals while working on a live broadcast. The investigation launched into that incident has not yet been concluded.

TV Formula Journalist Liza Tsitsishvili’s Accounts Frozen

The bank accounts of TV Formula journalist Liza Tsitsishvili have been frozen. According to the journalist, it was discovered that she had been fined 5,000 GEL on the grounds of “artificially blocking the road” while performing her professional duties on Rustaveli Avenue on September 10, 2025.

The journalist had not received any notice regarding the fine. Furthermore, she states that since September, she has been detained once and has even crossed the national border, yet in neither instance was she informed that she had been fined.

According to publicly available information, more than 40 fines have been issued against journalists for “artificially blocking the road” between October 26, 2024, and the present day.

JamNews Copywriter Irakli Datunashvili Fined Twice for “Artificially Blocking the Road”

JamNews Copywriter Irakli Datunashvili Fined Twice for “Artificially Blocking the Road” at February 28 and March 6, 2025 Protests.

JamNews copywriter Irakli Datunashvili was fined twice for “artificially blocking the road” during protests held on February 28 and March 6, 2025. He appealed the fines at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which together total 10,000 GEL.

In the context of pro-European protests, the Georgian Dream party increased the fines, which have been applied since November 28. Under amendments to Georgia’s Administrative Offenses Code, fines for illegally blocking roads were raised tenfold—from 500 GEL to 5,000 GEL.

Fines and seizures for a journalist’s professional activities

On August 30, 2025, Tozu Gulmamedli, a journalist for the independent online media outlet “Mautskebeli,” was fined 5,000 GEL for a second time on the grounds of “blocking the road” near the Parliament building. Although the journalist was performing her professional duties – as evidenced by materials published on “Mautskebeli’s” platforms investigative authorities failed to take this circumstance into account.

According to information released by “Mautskebeli,” the National Bureau of Enforcement has frozen the journalist’s bank accounts and threatened to seize property registered in her name, granting her a seven-day deadline to comply with the aforementioned demand.

Such practices constitute the criminalization of journalistic activity and an interference with professional duties. Furthermore, the use of seizures acts as a mechanism for additional financial pressure and substantially restricts the freedom of a journalist to carry out their professional activities.