Russian lawmakers are in the process of drafting bills on tit-for-tat restrictions against media outlets financed from abroad and circulating ‘undesirable’ content throughout Russia.
The US Department of Justice earlier said that the US branch of Russia’s RT television channel should register as a foreign agent by November 13.
RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan said RT would have to register itself as a foreign agent as otherwise it would have no possibility to operate in the United States.
Russia’s law on foreign agents may be updated to include a number of foreign mass media outlets and also foreign social networking sites.
“We do not only work at the proposals; a special commission to be established will draw more extensive mechanisms that may involve social networks,” Sergei Neverov, Head of the faction United Russia in the State Duma, told news agency TASS.
Neverov failed to specify what restrictions might be introduced and which social media might be affected. It should be noted that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter are U.S. services.
According to MP Alexei Pushkov, Moscow also intends to impose restrictions on the activity of CNN, Voice of America and Radio Liberty in Russia, RIA Novosti reports.
belsat.eu, following TASS
