Watchdog says BBC files insufficient info, asks for more

MOSCOW, Jan 17 (PRIME) -- The Russian communications service has received the documents it requested from TV channel BBC World News on time, but they are insufficient prompting the authority to repeat its demand, the service said on Thursday in a statement.

“OOO British Television provided us with the requested documents on January 16. However, the presented information is not exhaustive. This is why a repeated request has been sent today to the company to present all necessary details confirming compliance with the law limiting foreign control in mass media in Russia,” the statement read.

The communications service said in December 2018 that it would initiate controlling measures regarding BBC World News, broadcast in the country, and BBC’s online resources for their compliance with the country’s law in the wake of a decision of U.K. regulator Ofcom that Russian channel RT had infringed broadcasting rules.

BBC said it works in compliance with laws of every country where it functions, including Russia.

The watchdog’s Director Alexander Zharov said on Monday that BBC had to submit the documents requested by Wednesday for a comprehensive check that will end by the end of January with no further scrutiny in view.

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