LSM said that Russian-language content will be prohibited, except in cases of a state of emergency, targeted debunking of disinformation, or “under exceptional circumstances”.
A state of emergency, according to LSM, is a special legal regime under which the Cabinet of Ministers may restrict the rights and freedoms of state and municipal institutions, individuals and legal entities, and impose additional duties on them. Such a regime is declared in the event of a crisis in any sector, a disaster, or a threat of one arising.
Exceptional circumstances in Latvia are declared in two cases: if the country is threatened by a foreign enemy or if internal unrest may begin in the republic, threatening its democratic state order. Debunking disinformation in Russian is permitted if the material “is misleading, false, or threatens democracy and the Latvian state as a whole”, while the public media must take into account “the intensity and nature of the threat to state security”.
Before this, Latvia’s public media were required to create content in the languages of national minorities. However, on March 30, 2026, Latvia’s Constitutional Court decided that the Russian language in local media is self-sufficient and that “the state is not obliged to take care of it”.
Supporters of the law believe it will strengthen the Latvian language in the media environment. Harijs Rokpelnis, head of the “Union of Greens and Farmers” faction, said that language is “a very powerful tool” and that for Latvia the “last moment” has come to strengthen the Latvian language. Saeima deputy Svetlana Chulkova from the opposition “Stability!” faction objected that without news in Russian, people will turn to bloggers, to X, and to other channels banned in Latvia, which are available in text format and on YouTube.
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