The Communications Commission has issued a written caution to TV Pirveli for handling a citizen's complaint ineffectively and in violation of the rules. The operations of the broadcaster's self-regulatory body are regulated by the Law of Georgia On Broadcasting, which was violated by the broadcaster during the process of reviewing the complaint. More specifically, the complainant deemed a story aired by TV Pirveli to be defamatory and violating their rights, leading to them appealing to the broadcaster’s self-regulatory body. In the first instance, the broadcaster’s self-regulatory body reviewed and rejected the complaint without the complainant being present. Afterwards, the complainant was not properly informed about the possibility of appealing the first-instance decision in front of the self-regulatory appeals body. Thus, the complainant was not given the opportunity to present their position in full and appeal the self-regulatory body’s decision of the first instance. 

Furthermore, the broadcaster violated the law by failing to display its full contact information on its official website, creating an obstacle for the complainant initially faced an obstacle to contact the self-regulatory body. Ultimately, these violations led to an inefficient handling of the complaint review process, which contradicts the requirements of the law on the effectiveness of the broadcaster’s self-regulation. 

Due to the fact that TV Pirveli had not carried out similar violations within the past year, the Commission issued the broadcaster with a written caution and ordered it to display contact information on its website in an appropriate manner. In addition, the complainant was informed that they have the opportunity to appeal to the self-regulatory appeals body of TV Pirveli according to the established rule.