Russian President Vladimir Putin signs off law to label journalists as foreign agents

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a controversial law allowing independent journalists and bloggers to be labelled as "foreign agents", a move that critics say will violate media freedom.

Russian legislation passed in 2012 already gave authorities the power to brand media organisations and NGOs as foreign agents, a term that has Soviet-era overtones.

The new law, which now extends to individuals, will come into effect immediately, according to a document published on the Russian government website.