"We have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law," the social media company said in a series of Twitter posts. It said in-app messaging would not be affected by the decision.

The US government on Saturday condemned the new law, which threatens jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading what the Kremlin describes as "fake news".

"We condemn the move by the Russian Federation Council to approve a law threatening prison sentences of up to 15 years for journalists," White House National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement.

The new Russian law makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the country's military.