LEGAL/MEDIA/RUSSIA: “Russian lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would allow the government to designate international media outlets as ‘foreign agents,’ a retaliatory move after Kremlin-backed network RT was required to register as a foreign agent in the U.S. this week.
Legislators in the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, voted unanimously Wednesday [11-15-17] to amend existing law to impose new requirements on foreign media operating in Russia. The legislation takes broad aim at international news organizations, saying a media outlet can be designated as a ‘foreign agent’ if it receives funding in any form from outside Russia.
The measure awaits review by Russia’s Senate, the Federation Council, and signature by Russian President Vladimir Putin before it becomes law. Viktoria Rozhkova, chief of the Duma press service, said the measure would be reviewed by the Federation Council on Nov, 22, unless approved in an earlier session.
The new legislation follows swiftly on promises from the Russian government to retaliate over a U.S. Department of Justice request that RT register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, or FARA, originally passed by Congress in 1938 to counter covert Nazi propaganda efforts before World War II.”
-Nathan Hodge, “Russia’s Duma Votes to Call International Media ‘Foreign Agents’,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 15, 09:08am