MOSCOW — Russian lawmakers voted unanimously Wednesday to pass legislation allowing authorities to force any foreign media organization to register as a ‘‘foreign agent’’ under penalty of fines or a possible ban on operations in Russia.
The legislation, passed 414 to 0 in retaliation for the registration of English-language Russian news network RT under a similar statute in the United States, was drafted hastily and is likely to be signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin by the end of the month.
The bill approved by the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, did not include a list of media organizations to be targeted; lawmakers said they would be chosen by Russia’s Ministry of Justice.
Likely targets are US news organizations that receive government funding, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, as well as privately owned CNN.
Andrey Isayev, a lawmaker in the ruling United Russia party, suggested that all three news agencies could be registered under the law. In public remarks to journalists Monday, he also mentioned the German public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
The law also appears likely to be used to selectively target media from countries in conflict with the Kremlin, especially if that conflict involves the state-funded television station RT, formerly known as Russia Today.
The law, which is focused on media, is considerably broader than comparable US legislation, which targets only state-funded organizations.
In comments to The Washington Post, Pyotr Tolstoy, a former journalist and talk show host turned lawmaker who led the drafting of the legislation, said he expects the law to apply to a small number of news organizations at first. But he said the list could grow if Russia believes more of its news outlets are being pressured abroad.
‘‘This campaign looks like it’s going to go on for a long time,’’ Tolstoy said, referring to what he called pressure on Russian journalists abroad. US authorities accuse RT of carrying out a Kremlin-dictated influence campaign aimed at US citizens, a charge the television channel denies.
‘‘Every time, Russia is going to take hard response measures,’’ he said. ‘‘This is not a country you can dictate terms to.’’
He added that lawmakers were also reviewing laws about advertising on Facebook and Twitter, the latter having recently blocked RT from advertising on the site. ‘‘We are listening carefully to the questions our colleagues in [the US] Congress are asking,’’ he said, ‘‘and we have questions of our own.’’
The move comes in response to a US Justice Department requirement that RT register as a foreign agent because of its alleged role in interfering in US affairs and the 2016 presidential election by pushing the Kremlin’s agenda.
Russia denies it meddled in last year’s election campaign, and RT has accused the Justice Department of infringing on free speech. In a statement, the Justice Department said the US legislation, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, merely informs the public without inhibiting ‘‘freedom of expression.’’
Under the new law, foreign media organizations identified by the Russian Justice Ministry would be forced to register as foreign agents, then provide financial accounts and label their reports as having been produced by foreign agents. Foreign media that do not register when requested can lose permission to work in Russia.
