Georgia’s Communications Commission (ComCom), the state media regulator, has fined opposition-leaning TV Pirveli GEL 2,500 (about USD 950) over the use of terms such as “prisoners of conscience,” citing violations of “fairness” and “impartiality.”
The June 25 decision marks the second known financial penalty under controversial content-regulating provisions introduced through April 2025 amendments to the Broadcasting Law, after ComCom imposed the same fine on another opposition-leaning broadcaster, Formula TV, in May over alleged breaches related to “personal opinions,” “impartiality,” and “balance.”
According to Mediachecker, an independent media watchdog, the regulator’s decision to fine TV Pirveli stemmed from the language used in its news coverage, including references to people arrested and convicted in connection with anti-government protests as “prisoners of conscience,” descriptions such as “the terror against activists continues,” as well as characterizations of Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili as an “oligarch” and the ruling Georgian Dream party as the “oligarch’s party.”
ComCom argued that such wording reflected the broadcaster’s “personal attitude or opinion” and therefore violated Article 54 of the Broadcasting Law, which requires “fairness and impartiality” in news reporting, Mediachecker said. The regulator selectively monitored TV Pirveli’s news programs aired between May 11 and 13.
The fines come amid concerns from critics over the expanded powers granted to ComCom under last year’s legislative amendments, which authorized it to regulate broadcast content. Critics have long accused ComCom, currently chaired by former ruling party lawmaker Goga Gulordava, of acting in line with the ruling party’s interests.
“For years, the government of Georgian Dream has been attempting, through various means, to pressure, intimidate, and marginalize independent and critical media – whether through financial pressure, legal proceedings, or physical intimidation,” Transparency International Georgia said following the fine on TV Pirveli.
“Particularly concerning is the use of investigative bodies and the Communications Commission as instruments for sanctioning the media, creating a new type of threat in which journalists and media outlets may face fines and/or detention for criticizing the authorities,” it added.
In April, Formula TV and TV Pirveli, as well as two pro-government broadcasters, Imedi TV and POSTV, received written warnings from ComCom over alleged “violations of the principles of impartiality.” The move followed the regulator’s warning that it would adopt a more proactive enforcement approach as it criticized the United Kingdom’s decision to sanction Imedi TV and POSTV for “Russian disinformation.”
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