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Putin signs bill targeting journalists and bloggers

Putin signs bill targeting journalists and bloggers | iNFOnews.ca
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a joint video conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping during inaugurating the Power of Siberia pipeline in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. China and Russia launched Monday a more than 6,000 kilometer-long gas pipeline in one realization of the countries' long-planned energy partnerships. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill into law that gives the government the right to register bloggers, journalists and social media users as foreign agents.

The bill extends an existing law involving foreign-funded media outlets. That was adopted in 2017 in response to the decision by the U.S. Justice Department to label the Russian state-funded RT television a foreign agent.

The new law can apply to anyone who distributes content produced by media outlets registered as foreign agents and receives payments from abroad. Individuals registered as foreign agents will be subject to additional government scrutiny.

The move has been criticized by many in Russia for restricting freedom of expression in the country even further and allowing the authorities to crack down on dissent.

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