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Since the beginning of 2024, the commissioner for the protection of the state language has received 421 complaints regarding violations of the law, which requires the use of the Ukrainian language on websites offering goods and services in Ukraine. This was announced by language ombudsman Taras Kremin on his Facebook page.

These complaints concern violations of the sixth part of Article 27 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language”, which requires that the Ukrainian version of the site be loaded by default.

“Unfortunately, not all enterprises have fulfilled the requirements of the law. Some sites still have a start page in a foreign language, although the law clearly states that the Ukrainian version should be the main one,” said Taras Kremin. He also noted that the number of complaints this year has decreased by 50% compared to last year, which indicates the gradual implementation of legal requirements on many sites.

During 2024, based on complaints, 161 offending websites were checked. Most of them fixed the language version even before the review was completed.

“As of September 10, 2024, we have issued 49 warnings and imposed 16 fines. Violations related to the lack of a Ukrainian version of the site or the fact that another language was loaded by default,” Kremin added.

“Regarding those sites whose owners could not be established, we are contacting the police and the tax service. Violators will not escape responsibility. We use all possible mechanisms of administrative influence,” Kremin assured.

From July 16, 2022, fines from 3,400 UAH to 5,100 UAH for the first violation and 8,500 UAH to 11,900 UAH for repeated violations within a year have been provided for violating the language law on the Internet. Citizens can report violations through an electronic form on the Commissioner’s website, send a message by e-mail or to the address of the office in Kyiv.

In 6 months of 2023, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language received 2,020 appeals from citizens about violations of the language law.