Russia's Parliament Approves Law Against Foreign Media
The Russian parliament has passed a law requiring foreign media outlets to register. Under the law, international media outlets that receive funding from abroad may be classified as «foreign agents» in the future.
This was reported by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti on Wednesday. Moscow had already announced the move after a Russian broadcaster had to register as a "foreign agent" in the USA. 414 MPs voted in favor of the controversial bill in the final reading, according to Russian news agencies. There were no dissenting votes in the 450-member Duma. The law still has to be approved by the upper house. President Putin must then sign the law into law.
Reaction to US restrictions
Presidential office spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the law a reaction to restrictions imposed on Russian media in the USA. The measures are a consequence of the dispute between the two countries following US accusations that Russia actively influenced the 2016 presidential election. Russia is also alleged to have used state-funded media.
Recently, the US authorities determined that the US branch of the Russian state television channel RT must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The Russian presidential office rejects the accusations of election interference and has condemned the measures against RT as an attack on the free press. A similar law has been in force in Russia for non-governmental organizations since 2012. Since then, many NGOs have had to close. (SDA/AFP/REU)
