Delfi (web portal)

Company development

Delfi was established in 1999 by the Estonian company MicroLink and sold in 2003, to the Norwegian company Findexa. In 2007, Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp acquired 100% of Delfi stocks for €54m. It operates under a single name in the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, and also in Ukraine. It has its own bureau in Moscow, Kaliningrad, Warsaw, and Stockholm. It also sources its news reports from the Baltic News Service and from wire services.

Freedom of speech

Because visitors of Delfi can anonymously comment on all news articles, the site generates debates over freedom of speech in the Baltic States. Some members of the Estonian and Lithuanian parliaments have proposed laws making Delfi and other news portals responsible for the contents of anonymous comments.{{cite news|url=http://www.balticbusinessnews.com/newsletter/060518_bbn_newsletter.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929083354/http://www.balticbusinessnews.com/newsletter/060518_bbn_newsletter.pdf |archive-date=29 September 2007 |publisher=Baltic Business News Newsletter |title=Parliament fails to adopt controversial bill on censoring webcommentators|date=18 May 2006}} In September 2006, attorneys for Artūras Zuokas, mayor of Vilnius, asked public prosecutors to seize Delfi servers and reveal the IP addresses of all anonymous commentators who have written comments about him in several Delfi publications. |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130215153006/http://www.lithuaniatribune.com/29020/the-lithuania-tribune-and-delfi-commence-operation-of-joint-venture-201329020/ |archive-date = 15 February 2013}}

In June 2015, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Delfi AS v. Estonia that holding delfi.ee responsible for its readers' comments did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights' protection of freedom of speech.

Legal proceedings

On May 14, 2025, the Regional Administrative Court of Lithuania rejected Delfi and its parent company Ekspress Grupp's appeal and upheld the Lithuanian Competition Council's decision that the Estonian media company had violated competition law. The Competition Council had originally fined Ekspress Grupp €140,460 in December 2023 for acquiring 100% of UAB Lrytas shares (operator of lrytas.lt news portal) without notifying authorities or obtaining required permission according to the Lithuanian Competition Law.

Patron of the University of Latvia

Since 2018, Delfi has been a bronze patron of the University of Latvia Foundation. Support is granted to the university's students of Communication Science of the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as other students of Communication and Journalism in all Latvian higher education institutions. In 2018, the first scholarships in the amount of 10,000 EUR were awarded. Delfi is an internet partner and supporter of the social scholarship Ceļamaize 2009.

References

Sources

• Internet portals in the Baltic States: legal issues by Liutauras Ulevičius

References

1. "Delfi, UAB revenue, profit".
2. Laima Nevinskaite. (13 November 2003). "Media of the Baltic States in the European Communication Networks". Europäische Akademie Berlin.
3. (21 February 2014). "Эстонский медиа-концерн прекращает свою деятельность в Украине". RIA Novosti Ukraina.
4. (16 March 2016). "The Lithuania Tribune's paywall: your questions answered". Delfi.
5. (10 January 2025). "Digital subscription results of AS Ekspress Grupp for the fourth quarter of 2024". GlobeNewswire.
6. (17 April 2024). "Partnership agreement with DELFI, a leading digital publisher in the Baltic states".
7. (16 December 2003). "Findexa acquires the Baltic news portal Delfi". European Association of Directory and Database Publishers.
8. (8 April 2007). "Ekspress Group buys Delfi portals for 54 million euros". The Baltic Times.
9. (20 June 2006). "Seimo narių siūlomose pataisose - ir didesni suvaržymai žiniasklaidai". Delfi News.
10. Vanagas, Justinas. (4 September 2006). "A.Zuokas - prieš komentarus apie jį rašančius internautus". Delfi.
11. (2015-06-17). "EU Court Unexpectedly Rules Estonian Website Is Responsible for User Comments".
12. (2015-06-16). "Shock European court decision: Websites are liable for users' comments". [[Ars Technica]].
13. (14 May 2025). "Teismas: Konkurencijos tarybos sprendimas dėl pareiškėjos bendrovės "Aktsiaselts Ekspress Grupp" yra teisėtas ir pagrįstas". Lithuanian Courts.
14. ""Delfi"".