News media pull back operations from Russia amid new law restricting reporting
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CNN (NYSE:T) is halting broadcasting in Russia amid a new legal crackdown in the country over reporting on the war against Ukraine.
It's one of several news organizations deciding in quick succession Friday to pull back or halt news gathering inside Russia, including Bloomberg and the BBC among others.
"CNN will stop broadcasting in Russia while we continue to evaluate the situation and our next steps moving forward," a spokesperson says.
Bloomberg says it's decided "with great regret" to suspend newsgathering there. "The change to the criminal code, which seems designed to turn any independent reporter into a criminal purely by association, makes it impossible to continue any semblance of normal journalism inside the country."
The BBC has also suspended all operations in the country. And Reuters says it's "evaluating the situation."
Russia's new law punishes anyone spreading "false information" about the Ukraine invasion with up to 15 years in prison. That law, taking effect as soon as Saturday, could make it crime simply to refer to the conflict as a "war."
Russia's government also said it would block access to Russian-language media produced outside the country, including websites of Voice of America, the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Deutsche Welle and Latvia's Meduza.
Meanwhile, ad giant WPP is also discontinuing work in Russia. Continuing operations there "would be inconsistent with our values as a company," CEO Mark Read said. Rival holding company Interpublic Group (NYSE:IPG) says it's considering its own steps in Russia.
The news-media law comes also alongside escalating crackdowns on social media. Russia elected Friday to block Facebook
(NASDAQ:FB) entirely in the country, claiming the platform restricted access to state media accounts, and there are reports that Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is being blocked in the country as well.