Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU Commission adopted several sanction packages aimed at addressing the Kremlin’s hybrid threat. According to ISD Analyst Pablo Maristany de las Casas, recent findings suggest enforcement from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) has so far been inconsistent.

Pablo’s research on the effectiveness of the EU’s ban on Russian-state media was featured in several outlets in August, including AFP’s wire service, highlighting the challenges internet providers face in restricting access to the various online domains that can be associated to a sanctioned media entity. He also offered insights on potential improvements on a European level.

“The issue is when they sanction Russian state media, they mention the outlet that they are sanctioning—so Russia Today, Sputnik, etc—but what they don’t list is what domain falls under this entity,” Pablo said. “If the European Commission were to list the different domains that are known to be linked to these entities, that would make it much easier for member states and the internet service providers in those member states to enforce these blocks.”

AFP covered these findings, with their article available on France 24, Euractiv, and more. It was also cited in Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda.