Georgia's Communications Commission has fined pro-government television channel PosTV 2,500 lari ($920) for violating broadcasting impartiality rules, marking the first financial penalty imposed on a pro-government broadcaster for breaching the country's broadcasting law.

According to the commission, PosTV's news bulletins on 22 and 23 June contained reports presented through the broadcaster's personal opinions and failed to meet legal requirements on impartiality and accuracy, News Georgia reports.

"The law explicitly prohibits news and current affairs programmes from being presented on the basis of the broadcaster's personal attitude or opinion," the commission said, adding that the rules are intended to guarantee the public's right to receive an objective account of events.

The regulator noted that PosTV had previously received a formal written warning for a similar violation. Under Georgian law, a repeat breach of broadcasting standards within a year allows the commission to impose a financial penalty.

According to News Georgia, until now, pro-government broadcasters had received only warnings for comparable violations. By contrast, opposition-leaning television channels TV Pirveli and Formula have each been fined three times by the commission for similar offences.

In 2025, at the initiative of the ruling Georgian Dream party, parliament approved amendments introducing stricter impartiality requirements for broadcasters. The changes transferred oversight of issues previously handled through media self-regulation and journalistic ethics to the Communications Commission.

At the same time, the authorities banned media outlets from receiving direct foreign funding, while non-governmental organisations were required to obtain government approval before accepting foreign grants.

The ruling party says the reforms are intended to protect Georgia's information space from "external influence" and "radicalisation". Human rights groups and opposition journalists, however, argue that the measures amount to a legal mechanism for censorship and targeted pressure on independent media.