He did not name the companies or say if he was concerned about the activities of foreign or local firms, but Russia has been accused by the United States and other Western nations of meddling in their elections. Once designated, such firms need to provide details to the authorities on, for example, their sources of funding. “It should be carefully analyzed how they are operating and will be operating during the presidential election,” he said, but said this should not “narrow the space” for freedom on the Internet. US ambassador caught out over ‘fake news’ jibeRussia has already designated Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, both US-backed organizations, as “foreign agents”. Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was barred on Monday from running in next year’s presidential election after officials ruled he was ineligible to take part due to a suspended prison sentence he says was trumped up.

Source: The Express Tribune December 26, 2017 07:03 UTC