State Dept. sides with U.K. after China’s BBC ban

FILE – This Oct. 17, 2007, file photo, shows the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation sign on their offices at White City in London. China has banned the BBC World News television channel from the few outlets where it could be seen in the country in possible retaliation after British regulators revoked the license of state-owned Chinese broadcaster CGTN. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:34 AM PT – Friday, February 12, 2021

The State Department has expressed support for the U.K. after Beijing’s ban on BBC World News.

“We absolutely condemn the PRC’s decision to ban BBC World News,” announced department spokesman Ned Price.

On Thursday, U.S. diplomats said Beijing maintains one of the most oppressive and restrictive information spaces in the world, and the ban of the BBC further restricts freedom of speech in the communist country.

The State Department said Beijing is spreading its own propaganda, unrestricted, in other parts of the world.

State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, on February 9, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP)

“It’s troubling that as the PRC restricts outlets and platforms from operating freely in China, Beijing’s leaders use free and open media environments overseas to promote misinformation,” Price continued. “We call on the PRC and other nations with authoritarian controls over their population to allow their full access to the Internet and media. ”

China bans BBC World News from broadcasting https://t.co/ecjCKquMCb

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 11, 2021

The State Department also added, the BBC is an important outlet to maintain a free and open discussion.

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