Russian lawmakers have approved a law criminalizing the distribution of "deliberately false information" about the operations of state entities, including embassies abroad, in an expansion of a much criticized piece of legislation that prompted several media outlets to suspend their Russian operations.
The bill approved by the parliament’s lower chamber, the State Duma, in its second and third readings on March 22 broadens an earlier law that criminalizes distributing "deliberately false information" about the operations of Russia's armed forces abroad.
The new law lays out prison sentences of up to 15 years for those found guilty of distributing "false information" about the operations of Russian diplomatic missions abroad, prosecutors, the Russian National Guard, the Emergency Ministry, and other state bodies. The earlier bill envisions similar penalties.
The new bill is expected to be approved by the parliament's upper chamber, the Federal Council, and will then head to the Kremlin for the endorsement of President Vladimir Putin. It will be added as a clause to the earlier law, which the president signed on March 5.
The law is part of a clampdown on independent domestic and international media outlets covering Moscow's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
Several major international broadcasters, including the BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, CBS, Germany's ARD and ZDF recently announced suspensions on reporting from inside Russia. The BBC and ARD have since reopened.
Multiple websites of RFE/RL, the BBC, and other outlets have also been blocked over what Russian regulators say are erroneous reports, meaning they did not follow the government line, which includes a ban on calling Moscow's actions in Ukraine an invasion or a war.
Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor has also blocked some social media platforms.
In the highest profile move yet, a court in Moscow on March 21 labeled Meta Platforms as an “extremist organization," a move that effectively outlawed its Facebook and Instagram social media platforms.