On July 16, 2022, Part 6 of Article 27 of the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Functioning of Ukrainian as the State Language", which requires the use of the state language on websites and social networks, will enter into force.

Thus, Internet representations (including websites, web pages in social networks) of state authorities, local self-government bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations of state and communal forms of ownership, mass media registered in Ukraine, as well as business entities that sell goods and services in Ukraine and are registered in Ukraine, must be performed in the state language.

According to the law, along with the version of the Internet representations made in the state language, there may be versions in other languages, however, the Ukrainian-language version must be downloaded by default for users of Ukraine and have no less information in terms of volume and content than foreign language versions.

"Actually, business entities that provide services to Ukrainian consumers on the Internet (online stores, online catalogs, etc.) already since January 16, 2021, are obliged to post information about goods and services in the state language on the relevant Internet resources, - Taras Kremin,  the State Language Protection Commissioner noted. - It is worth paying attention that from now on they are obliged to have a full version in Ukrainian, which should be the main one (it should contain the maximum amount of information) and be downloaded by default."

According to Taras Kremin, last year almost a third of citizens' appeals to the Commissioner's Secretariat concerned the lack of a Ukrainian version of online store sites and websites through which consumer services were provided.

 "On the eve of July 16, we once again sent letters to state authorities and local self-government bodies and representatives of the largest retail chains, in which they were  informed about the new norms of the language law and reminded about the current ones, as well as warned about changes to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, which provide for the possibility of imposing a fine on violators of the language legislation", - concluded the Commissioner.