CNN and Bloomberg News have become the latest global media outlets to suspend their operations in Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed a new bill law that sentenced the distribution of “false news” with prison provisions for up to 15 years.

CNN said on Friday that it stopped broadcasting in Russia because of continuing “to evaluate our next situation and steps”, while Bloomberg said it was temporarily suspending time to gather in the country.

The decision to follow a previous similar movement by BBC, ABC, CBS News and CBC / Canada Canada.

Editor Bloomberg John Micklethwait said he deeply regretted the suspension.

But “changes to the Criminal Code, which seems to be designed to change any independent reporter becomes pure criminals by the association, making it impossible to continue the similarity of normal domestic journalism,” he said.

“We will not do that to our reporters.”

Legal changes occur after Russian invasion to Ukraine draws a condemnation approaching universal, as well as global sanctions, including the prohibition of Russian news networks RT in many Western countries for what is called the European Union about conflict.

Moscow has tried to return in the information war, with officials saying his enemies – such as the United States and EU – spread false information in efforts to sow disputes among Russians.

This previously cut access to several foreign news organizational websites, including BBC, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle, while the Roskomnadzor Communication Regulator also moved to Facebook Block Meta Platform Inc. The agency quoted 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media.

Meanwhile, the Russian Tassutan news agency reported that Russia also limited access to Twitter.

In the midst of increased crackdown, news executives said they were worried that new laws could be their journalist, emphasizing that the organization had to balance the obligation to the audience to report news with retaliation.

Director of the BBC General Team Davie said the new law appeared to criminalize the process of independent journalism.