Russian lawmakers adopt legislation that will allow the government to designate any blogger with income abroad as a ‘foreign agent’
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With no opposition whatsoever, Russia’s State Duma has adopted the third and final reading of legislation that will permit the government to designate any individual as a “foreign agent.” In the final tally, 311 deputies supported the legislation, four abstained, and no one voted against the bill.
“This is a set of tit-for-tat measures and tools that can be used in the event of further unfriendly steps to restrict the work of our media outlets abroad,” explained United Russia deputy Sergey Boyarsky, the first deputy head of the Duma’s Information Police Committee.
(1) The law’s essence
The amendments apply to the assignment of “foreign agent” status to mass media outlets. Once the Federal Assembly and president sign the law, the combination of just two factors will be enough to designate any legal entities or individuals as foreign agents: (1) the dissemination of information (including just posts on social media) and (2) the receipt of money from abroad.