Russian President Vladimir Putin signed legislation Monday that make it illegal to spread “fake news.”
The law also criminalizes the sharing of information that “exhibits blatant disrespect for the society, government, official government symbols, constitution or governmental bodies of Russia.”
Prosecutors are now allowed to direct complaints viewed as insulting to the government, which can block websites from publishing the information. Publications that spread the offending information may face fines up to $23,000 and repeat offenders face up to 15 days in jail.
Opponents to the law have said it will allow the government to cut off access to social media and websites critical of the Kremlin amid public discontent.
The Kremlin has denied the new laws amount to censorship.
“What’s more, this sphere of fake news, insulting and so on, is regulated fairly harshly in many countries of the world including Europe. It is therefore of course necessary to do it in our country too,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
