Russian lawmakers approved legislation Wednesday that would allow authorities to force any foreign media organization to register as a “foreign agent” — signaling an increasingly hostile relationship between the U.S. and Russia.
The bill passed the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, unanimously in retaliation of the U.S. government pressuring Russian state-funded TV channel RT – formerly Russia Today – to register with the Justice Department as a foreign agent, the Washington Post reported.
RT will now have to disclose the sources of its funding and activities intended to influence a lawmaker or other government official, the New York Times reported. It remained unclear what the designation will mean for RT’s journalists.
U.S. authorities grew uneasy with RT’s presence following the 2016 presidential election — and allegations that RT tried to discredit Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton while allegedly giving a pass to Republican Donald Trump.
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