The U.S. Justice Department says Russian state-controlled media outlet RT has registered as a foreign agent in the United States.
U.S. officials had given RT until Monday to register its operations or face legal action.
“Between legal action and registration, we have chosen the latter,” RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan tweeted Monday.
The U.S. demand for RT’s registration may be mirrored by Moscow, the Kremlin said last week, which would force outlets such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which receive funding from the U.S. Congress, to register in Russia.
RT had opposed the registration, arguing that it would hinder its work in the U.S. and force it to make public information, including employees’ addresses and salaries.
U.S. intelligence officials consider RT a propaganda arm tied to the Russian government, but RT says it offers objective news coverage in the United States.
In a note on the Justice Department website Monday, officials said the registration makes it clear who is paying for the activities of foreign organizations in the United States, but it does not restrict the content of materials they distribute.
