Russia Set To Strike At U.S. Social Media Platforms In New Set Of Legal guidelines – .

The heat on US social media platforms is now blowing from Russia, whose House of Commons drafted a series of bills this week against websites Moscow says discriminates against its media.

Twitter, for example, calls some Russian media outlets “state-linked”, which Moscow has objected to according to news reports.

Supporters of the new Russian laws – which could result in leading U.S. social media sites being blocked or slowed down in the country – rely on pre-made complaints from the U.S. that lawmakers and other right-wing individuals have alleged that the Platforms are biased.

Opposition leaders like Alexei Navalny, who accused government agents of trying to poison him in August, are using the social media platforms to bypass state media censorship and reach out to Russians directly.

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Putin’s government is focused on strengthening Russia’s internet sovereignty, a buzzword for increased controls. Another bill would penalize companies up to 20% of annual sales in Russia for failing to remove prohibited content. The package also includes measures that would tackle online defamation and leaks regarding federal security guards. Others would allow Putin, who was due to step down in 2024, to stand for two more six years, allow the government to ban emergency rallies and prohibit their funding from foreign agents.

The bills were passed by the Russian lower house, the State Duma.

Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have been adding warning labels to posts by President Donald Trump and his allies with increasing frequency this year, including the volley of unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud in the November election. The president has threatened to repeal Section 230, a decade-old law that protects platforms from legal liability for most of the content they currently watch. Most recently, the President attempted to revoke Section 230 with a defense bill, but was rejected by Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel just revived it in an unlikely wildcard bill tied to auxiliary controls.