CGTN: UK Regulator Criticized for 'Act of Censorship' by Banning CGTN
10.3.2021 16:24:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Britain's communications regulator Ofcom has been criticized for its decision to ban and fine China Global Television Network (CGTN) for political reasons.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310005537/en/
CGTN headquarters building in Beijing. /CFP
A group of journalists, filmmakers and artists recently challenged Ofcom's "act of censorship" in an open letter published by the No Cold War campaign and the Morning Star.
"The decision by Ofcom to remove the broadcasting license of CGTN is an act of censorship which is not in the interests of Britain and its people," the open letter said, calling the move an "attack on free speech."
Ofcom revoked the license of CGTN to broadcast in the UK in early February on the grounds of its ultimate control and its political attributes. Beijing slammed the move as political repression against Chinese media.
In their letter, the signatories questioned Ofcom's justification for banning CGTN.
"Ofcom's justification for taking CGTN off air is that any holder of a broadcasting license in Britain must not be controlled by political bodies. However, this law is only selectively applied. Numerous private and state channels have clear political agendas or control – the BBC itself, for example, which had its staff vetted by MI5, has not had its broadcasting license revoked," it said.
The letter urged Ofcom to reverse its decision and reinstate CGTN's license.
CGTN committed to balanced reporting
A spokesperson for CGTN on Tuesday called on the British regulator to calmly listen to the opinions expressed in the letter and end its political crackdown on Chinese media.
The spokesperson said that as an international news channel, CGTN is committed to providing "accurate, timely and objective news and information with diverse and balanced views" for its global audiences.
"China is increasingly connected and engaged with the rest of the world including the UK," the spokesperson said in a statement. "It is our responsibility to present Chinese viewpoints and perspectives in our news reporting, which is what our viewers expect and is also in the interest of the public."
'The world should be able to hear China's voice'
In a separate statement on Tuesday, CGTN said it is disappointed with and firmly opposes Ofcom's latest sanction decisions and adjudications against it.
Ofcom on Monday fined CGTN 225,000 British pounds (about $310,933) for "breaching rules on fairness, privacy and due impartiality" just weeks after it stripped the network of its right to air in Britain.
"CGTN believes its coverage of the 2019 violent protests in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was fair, truthful and duly impartial," the statement said.
"As a news outlet from China, CGTN made it possible for global audiences to see and hear a more complete picture of events in Hong Kong by reporting on the voices opposing violence and destruction," it stressed. "The fact that CGTN has been sanctioned by Ofcom for its objective coverage of the event is unjust."
"It is in the public interest that the world should be able to hear China's voice and perspective and see the true picture more clearly," it added.
At a regular press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged Ofcom and certain individuals to immediately cease engaging in political manipulation and correct their mistakes, slamming the move as "blatant political oppression."
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210310005537/en/
Contact information
Media:
Jiang Simin
jiang.simin@cgtn.com
+86 18826553286
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Samsung and Mistral AI Announce Strategic Partnership for Intelligence-Driven Semiconductor Infrastructure8.9.2026 19:15:00 EEST | Press release
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Mistral AI to enhance its semiconductor engineering and manufacturing capabilities that will reinforce its leadership in AI chip technologies. The announcement of the partnership was made during the state summit held in Paris between South Korea and France. Under the agreement, Samsung will integrate Mistral’s AI services and solutions—including its flagship large language model, Mistral Large—across its semiconductor operations to develop customized on-premises AI models optimized for intelligence-driven infrastructure. Mistral’s powerful AI platform is expected to provide Samsung with a unique stack of tools that will transform how semiconductors are designed and manufactured. The on-premises enterprise solutions will especially ensure security and flexibility required to process highly sensitive technologies and operational data entirely within the boundaries of Samsung’s semiconductor in
Sensereo Airo Wins IFA Berlin Innovation Award8.9.2026 18:00:00 EEST | Press release
Sensereo, an environmental intelligence company developing next-generation sensing products for safer, healthier and smarter living, was presented with the prestigious IFA Berlin Innovation Award for its Airo modular indoor air quality system. The award was presented during IFA Berlin on Thursday, Sept. 4, recognizing Airo for its innovative approach to helping consumers better understand and manage the quality of their indoor environments. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260906292649/en/ Winner of a 2026 IFA Innovation Award, Airo is Sensereo’s flagship environmental intelligence platform, combining advanced sensing technology with a modular design that allows users to monitor multiple aspects of indoor air quality and environmental conditions through a single, consumer-friendly system. Designed to transform complex environmental data into useful, actionable information, Airo helps households better understan
Verdantis Rebrands as the AI Super-Agent for MRO, Sets Sights on AI-Native Enterprise Asset Management8.9.2026 17:06:00 EEST | Press release
Verdantis, the AI company for spare parts and MRO inventory optimization in asset-intensive industries, today unveiled its new brand identity as the AI Super-agent for MRO and announced it is building toward a fully AI-native Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) platform. Verdantis’s super-agent orchestrates nine specialized AI agents across the decisions that decide plant uptime: spare parts, criticality, demand, reorder, and work order planning. These decisions set working capital, maintenance spend, and whether a critical asset runs and, in most plants, they are still made in spreadsheets and disconnected systems. The positioning is for the teams who own uptime - maintenance, reliability, and MRO supply chain leaders in oil and gas, mining, utilities, chemicals, and manufacturing. And it reflects an AI-first architecture: agents decide and act by default; people supervise, override, and teach the system. Every human override creates feedback that helps the system learn. That principle
HyperLight Welcomes VentureTech Alliance to Series C, Deepening TFLN Integration Across the Semiconductor Ecosystem8.9.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
HyperLight Corporation ("HyperLight"), a leader in thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonics, today announced that VentureTech Alliance ("VTA") has joined its Series C financing round. VTA is a venture investment firm focused on the semiconductor industry, with a portfolio built across the semiconductor technology stack — including circuit design, foundry-adjacent process technology, EDA, advanced packaging, and photonics. VTA's participation extends the ecosystem alignment that defined the round, which brought together investors spanning silicon ICs, foundry manufacturing, electronics manufacturing services, networking, and global infrastructure capital. With VTA's addition, the syndicate now reaches further into the semiconductor manufacturing and design-enablement layers on which high-volume photonics production depends. "The transition to TFLN is not a component decision — it is an ecosystem decision," said Mian Zhang, CEO of HyperLight. "Getting TFLN into volume requires the proc
EcoOnline Appoints Conor O’Loughlin as CEO8.9.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
EcoOnline, a global provider of software that transforms how organisations protect people and the planet, today announced the appointment of Conor O’Loughlin as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. O’Loughlin succeeds Tom Goodmanson and will lead the Company into its next chapter of growth and innovation, continuing EcoOnline’s mission of keeping employees safe across the globe and supporting more than 11,000 customers. O’Loughlin is an experienced, growth-oriented technology operator and founder. He co-founded fitness technology company Glofox, scaling it into a global SaaS business serving customers in more than 80 countries before its acquisition by ABC Fitness in 2022. Following the acquisition, he served as Platform President and later Global Chief Revenue Officer at ABC Fitness, leading strategy across the company’s revenue-generating activities. “Keeping people safe at work is more important than ever, and EcoOnline does it with a depth of expertise that few can match
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom