Russian lawmakers have backed legislation that could further restrict the work of international organisations in the country by tagging them as “undesirable”.

Voting in the second of three readings on Friday, the Duma lower house of parliament supported a bill to label some foreign non-governmental organisations as carrying out “undesirable activities”.

The legislation could limit the work of international NGOs, already caught up in the Kremlin’s clampdown on civil society during Vladimir Putin’s third presidential term.

In 2012 Russia adopted a controversial law to label organisations that receive funding from abroad as “foreign agents”.

Critics of the latest bill said that its vague wording could also harm commercial companies doing business in Russia and could be arbitrarily handed out, bypassing any court.

The bill will be reviewed at its final reading next week in what is only a technical vote, MP Dmitry Gudkov – one of just three lawmakers who voted against the measure – wrote on Twitter.

Any organisation that “is a threat to Russia’s constitutional foundations, defence capabilities or security” could be marked as undesirable, according to the text of the law.

In a note explaining the legislation, lawmakers talked of the need to stop “destructive organisations” from working in Russia, where they could threaten “basic values of the Russian state” and foment “colour revolutions” – a term coined by Russian officials for regime change brought on by protests such as in Ukraine.

Russia has pursued increasingly isolationist policies as its relations with the west tumbled to a post-Soviet low over the conflict in Ukraine, and several international NGOs and foreign organisations have already stopped working in the country.

All groups could fall under the “undesirable” term, not just those working in the country, and a register would be formed by the foreign ministry and the prosecutors, rather than the courts.

People working for “undesirable” groups in Russia could face up to six years in prison or be banned from entering the country, the law says.

The label would lead to a block on the group’s bank accounts, and stop it from opening any offices in Russia, while Russian organisations who receive funding from “undesirables” will be held accountable, the legislation states.

Gudkov, one of just a handful of opposition deputies in the 450-strong chamber, warned that the wording of the bill meant that businesses in the country could also be hit.

“Prosecutors... could close any company, for example Apple or McDonalds, because prosecutors can read the law just as it sees fit,” he told Kommersant FM radio.

“The bill is absolutely harmful and unnecessary, it will hurt the investment climate,” he said, “it’s such a vague term, it can have an effect on everything.”