FILE PHOTO: People are silhouetted as they pose with laptops in front of a screen projected with binary code and a Russian national flag, in this picture illustration taken in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
MOSCOW: Russian lawmakers backed tighter Internet controls on Feb 12 to defend against foreign meddling in draft legislation that critics warn could disrupt Russia's Internet and be used to stifle dissent.
The legislation, which some Russian media have likened to an online "iron curtain", passed its first of three readings in the 450-seat lower chamber of parliament.
