Watching Kremlin propaganda could cost €700

From now on, the use of illegal software or devices, which are mostly used in Latvia to watch now-banned TV channels in one's home, will be punishable by a fine of €700.

In order to access television channels that cannot be retransmitted in Latvia due to copyright or bans, enterprising people buy devices or software abroad - mostly in Russia - that allow access to such channels. Often, these people also use the service obtained from these devices or software, such as Russia's Tricolor TV, to set up illegal local pay-TV networks.

Until now, the law only penalized providers of illegal services for this offence, but the amendments to the Protected Service Law adopted by the Saeima now also provide for administrative penalties for buyers of such services. It is now stipulated that the setting up, installation or personal use of an illegal system will be punishable by a warning or a fine of up to €700.

Boris Cilevičs, representing Harmony (Saskaņa), objected to this wording. He points out that the new provision of the law cannot be implemented "without serious violations of the principles of inviolability of the home and correspondence". In particular, in order to establish that a private person is using illegal equipment or software, law enforcement authorities have to enter the home, which is impossible without court authorization. The politician also believes that the people who will come under the sanctions of the law will be mainly the elderly and the uneducated, whose living conditions are already far from prosperous.

"The situation is that a great many of the people who are currently using these illegal systems are elderly, with low levels of education. They don't really understand the technical aspects of it, and they have no idea what they are really using and how they are using it. That is why I propose to differentiate and to provide for administrative liability only for deliberate, intentional acts," the MP said.

The majority of the Saeima did not listen to his arguments. The State Police, for its part, has confirmed that it has the resources to identify users of illegal devices and software, but its aim is not to impose the maximum penalty.

The aim of the norm is not to ensure that as many citizens as possible are administratively punished for the illegal use of restricted access systems and illegal systems, but rather to strictly establish that the setting up, installation or use of illegal systems for private purposes is illegal and can lead to administrative penalties. Together with awareness-raising and education, to ensure that individuals increasingly opt for such restricted access systems in their daily lives that provide access to a protected service in a legal manner.

To this end, the National Electronic Mass Media Council has also found funds in its budget to create an information campaign in newspapers, regional press, radio and television.

Dagmāra Beitnere-Le Galla, Secretary of the responsible committee, representing the Conservatives (Konservatīvie), who has spent a long time living abroad, also supported the introduction of the new procedure. She believes that this is a correct and pedagogical decision.

"The European experience is that people who buy a TV set know that they have to pay a subscription fee. In France, there was a similar rule and an authority that controlled the issue and imposed fines, but now this rule has been stopped because people no longer break the law. The law was a preventive measure so that people knew they would have to answer if they were caught. I support these amendments because Latvia is the number one European country in terms of pirated recordings and theft of media of all kinds," said Beitnere-Le Galla, hoping that the law will help the Latvian people to become a little more law-abiding. "This time, the bill is linked to the war situation in Ukraine, and to a large extent people's assessment of the war in Ukraine has been shaped by the Russian-offered media package that people are willing to watch."