Russia drafts legislation targeting foreign media

Russian lawmakers say they have drafted legal amendments that would allow the government to register international media outlets as foreign agents.

The measure comes as a quid pro quo response after the Russian state-funded TV channel RT registered with the US Justice Department as a foreign agent after pressure from the US government.

Deputy speaker of the lower house Pyotr Tolstoy says the amendments will give the Justice Ministry the authority to register foreign media outlets or Russian media funded from abroad as foreign agents. Following the registration, they will face requirements that are currently applied to foreign-funded nongovernmental organizations.

The US intelligence agencies allege that RT served as a tool for the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election. Russia has denied any interference.

— AP