ST. PETERSBURG — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday at a media forum in St. Petersburg that the Internet is a "CIA project" that is "still developing as such," the Associated Press reports.Putin called for Russia to "fight for its interests" online amid an ongoing effort by the Kremlin to gain a larger grip on the Internet, according to the AP. A law passed by the Russian parliament earlier this week requires that social media websites keep their servers in Russia and save all information about their users for at least half a year.Putin's statements come days after he told former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that Russia does not intercept citizens' data en masse during a live broadcast. Snowden, living in asylum in Russia, drew criticism for asking Putin a question some regarded as an easy set-up for Putin.