The Russian legal information website announced the “foreign agent” amendment bill signed by President Putin on the 30th. The bill shall enter into force on the date of publication.
The Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) and the Federal Council (the upper house of the parliament) deliberated and passed the revised bill of “foreign agents” on the 23rd and 25th of this month, respectively.
According to the document, individuals or organizations that obtain funds from abroad and engage in political activities in Russia without legal personality will be regarded as foreign agents. Individuals and organizations recognized as foreign agents are prohibited from participating in conferences, marches and electoral activities.
Foreign agents must submit relevant documents about their activities to the Russian Ministry of Justice. According to the bill, foreign journalists registered in Russia will also be regarded as foreign agents if they engage in activities that are inconsistent with the journalist industry.
On the same day, the Russian legal information website also announced the response sanctions bill signed by President Putin against the censorship of Russian media by foreign Internet platforms.
According to the bill, large Internet platforms such as foreign social networks that restrict the dissemination of Russian media information due to racial, ethnic and political views will face countermeasures such as blockades, traffic speed limits, administrative fines, etc.
In August this year, the Russian Foreign Ministry questioned that the US social media platform labeled the homepage of the Russian media account as “Russian state-owned media”, but the government-funded Western media were not labeled.
