The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ( et seq.) is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests.Foreign Agents Registration Act: An Overview Congressional Research Service. Updated March 7, 2019 It requires "foreign agents"—defined as individuals or entities engaged in domestic lobbying or advocacy for foreign governments, organizations, or persons ("foreign principals")—to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and disclose their relationship, activities, and related financial compensation.

FARA does not prohibit lobbying for foreign interests, nor does it ban or restrict any specific activities.Foreign Agents Registration Act: An Overview Congressional Research Service (2019) Its explicit purpose is to promote transparency with respect to foreign influence over American public opinion, policy, and laws; to that end, the DOJ is required to make information concerning foreign agents' registrations and their disclosed activities on behalf of foreign principals publicly available. FARA was enacted in 1938 primarily to counter Nazi propaganda, with an initial focus on criminal prosecution of subversive activities; since 1966, enforcement has shifted mostly to civil penalties and voluntary compliance.

For most of its existence, FARA was relatively obscure and rarely invoked; since 2017, the law has been enforced with far greater regularity and intensity, particularly against officials connected to the Trump administration. Subsequent high-profile indictments and convictions under FARA have prompted greater public, political, and legal scrutiny, including calls for reform.

FARA is administered and enforced by the FARA Unit of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES) within the DOJ's National Security Division (NSD). Since 2016, there has been a 30 percent increase in registrations; as of November 2022, there were over 500 active foreign agents registered with the FARA Unit.

Several U.S. states have enacted or proposed legislation resembling the federal FARA, often referred to as "baby FARA" laws. These state-level initiatives aim to increase transparency around foreign influence in state politics and policymaking.

Background Foreign influence over American politics has been a recurring concern since the nation's founding.Gouverneur Morris: "How far foreign powers would be ready to take part in the confusions he would not say. Threats that they will be invited have it seems been thrown out. He drew the melancholy picture of foreign intrusions as exhibited in the History of Germany, and urged it as a standing lesson to other nations." Max Farrand (ed.). Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Vol. 1. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1911. p. 530. In 1796, prior to his retirement from the presidency, George Washington warned about foreign nations seeking to influence both the American government and the public, namely through local "tools and dupes"."Non-Intervention". Congressional Globe. Vol. 21. January 19, 1852. p. 298. As early as 1808, the House of Representatives sought to investigate U.S. Army general James Wilkinson over allegations that he was a Spanish spy."General Wilkinson". House debate, Annuals of the Congress of the United States. Vol. 18. January 18, 1808. pp. 1461–1462. General Wilkinson was given back his commission by President James Madison on February 14, 1812. In explaining why General Wilkinson was being recommissioned, President Madison wrote "that although there are instances in the Court, as well as in the conduct of the Officer on trial, which are evidently and justly objectionable, his acquittal of the several charges agst.[sic] him is approved, and his sword is accordingly ordered to be restored." Andro Linklater, An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson (New York: Walker, 2009), p. 294. In 1852, a joint resolution was introduced in Congress that invoked Washington's warning and reaffirmed the U.S. government's commitment "Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence".

Notwithstanding deeply rooted anxieties about foreign interference in American politics, it is not illegal for Americans to advocate for foreign governments or interests. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution enshrines the right to petition the government, including through political lobbying,McKinley, Maggie (May 2016). "Lobbying and the Petition Clause". Stanford Law Review 68(5). pp. 1131- 1206.Allard, Nicholas W. (2008). "Lobbying Is an Honorable Profession: The Right to Petition and the Competition to Be Right". Stanford Law & Policy Review 19(1). pp. 23–69. and makes no distinction between citizens and noncitizens. As a result, efforts to address foreign influence have generally avoided censorship in favor of transparency.Testimony of Carl J. Austrian, American-Jewish Committee, in U.S. Congress, House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee No. 1, To Require the Registration of Certain Persons Employed by Agencies To Disseminate Propaganda in the U.S., hearing on H.R. 1591, 75th Cong., 1st sess., June 16, 1937, unpublished (Washington: GPO, 1937), p. 28. Only in 1917, shortly after the U.S. entered World War I, did Congress make the first formal attempts to regulate or restrict foreign lobbying, taking into consideration measures that would require foreign agents to publicly disclose their advocacy and prohibiting noncitizen residents from acting as foreign agents without prior government permission.H.R. 2583 (65th Congress), introduced April 10, 1917H.R. 5287 (65th Congress), introduced August 24, 1917

History In response to the rise of Nazism in 1930s Germany, the House created the Special Committee on Un-American Activities to address the growing concerns about foreign propaganda in the U.S.H.Res. 198 (73rd Congress), agreed to March 20, 1934.U.S. Congress, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Investigation of Nazi and Other Propaganda, 74th Cong., 1st sess., February 15, H.Rept. 153 (Washington: GPO, 1935), p. 2. In particular the preeminent PR firm in the US at the time, Carl Byoir and Associates were contracted by the German Railroads Information Bureau in 1933, ostensibly to send out information promoting Germany as tourist destination. After the Nation revealed that Carl Byoir was paid $6,000 per month to influence media and public perception of Nazi Germany, the committee was tasked with conducting investigations into three issues: "(1) the extent, character, and objects of Nazi propaganda activities in the United States, (2) the diffusion within the United States of subversive propaganda that is instigated from foreign countries and attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any necessary remedial legislation.""Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA): Background and Issues for Congress". Federation of American Scientists. . p. 4.

Pursuant to the findings and recommendations of the committee, FARA was enacted in 1938 to target foreign propaganda and political subversion, particularly from Nazi sources abroad;Robinson, Nick (April 5, 2022). "Enhancing the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938". . Written testimony given before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. foreign agents were implicated by the law regardless of whether they were acting "for or on behalf of" those interests."Foreign Agents Registration Act Enforcement". Department of Justice. , The law would not ban such activities but instead require that individuals engaged in propaganda on behalf of foreign governments and principals register with the government and disclose information about their clients, activities, and contract terms. Enforcement of the act was assigned to the Department of State, which opposed having such responsibility on the basis that it lacked the resources and personnel;Amending Act Requiring Registration of Foreign Agents: Hearings Before the Subcomm. No. 4 of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 77th Cong. 28 (1941) (statement of Hon. Adolf A. Berle, Jr., Assistant Sec’y of State) [hereinafter 1941 Hearings]. consequently, authority over enforcing the act was transferred to the Department of Justice in 1942. A "Foreign Agents Registration Section" was created within the DOJ's newly established War Division during World War II, and a total of 23 criminal cases were prosecuted on the basis of FARA."Notes on 22 U.S.C. § 611: US Code". FindLaw. .

Following the end of the war in 1945, enforcement of FARA declined significantly: Only two indictments were brought between 1945 and 1955, followed by nine "failure to file" indictments between 1955 and 1962.Staff of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 87th Cong., Nondiplomatic Activities of Representatives of Foreign Governments 11 (Comm. Print 1962).

1966 revision In 1966 the Act was amended and narrowed to emphasize agents actually working with foreign powers who sought economic or political advantage by influencing governmental decision-making. The amendments shifted the focus of the law from propaganda to political lobbying and narrowed the meaning of "foreign agent". Consequently, an individual or organization could not be placed in the FARA database unless the government proved that they were acting "at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal" and proved that the alleged foreign agent engaged "in political activities for or in the interests of such foreign principal", including by "represent[ing] the interests of such foreign principal before any agency or official of the Government of the United States"."22 USC § 611 - Definitions". Cornell University Law School. .

Due to the greater burden of proof placed on the government, until 2015, there only seven criminal prosecutions under FARA, none of which resulted in a conviction. However, a civil injunctive remedy also was added to allow the Department of Justice to warn individuals and entities of possible violations of the Act, ensuring more voluntary compliance while making it clear when the law has been violated. This has resulted in a shift from the law's initial focus on criminal prosecution, as the number of successful civil cases and administrative resolutions increased since that time.

1995 revision In 1995, the term "political propaganda" was removed from Subsection 611 following the 1987 Supreme Court case, Meese v. Keene, in which a California State Senator wanted to distribute three films from Canada about acid rain and nuclear war but felt his reputation would be harmed if the films were to be classified officially as "political propaganda".Hilden, Julie (February 5, 2007). "The Documentary 'This Film Is Not Yet Rated' Raises an Interesting Question About the MPAA Film Ratings System". FindLaw. . The court affirmed an earlier lower court ruling in favor of one of the film's distributors in Block v. Meese.Block v. Meese, 793 F.2d 1303 (D.C. Cir.) – via OpenJurist.org. . The Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 provided exemptions under FARA for certain agents who register with Congress and are thereby permitted to lobby the legislative and executive branches directly."Foreign Agents Registration Act: Frequently Asked Questions". Department of Justice. .

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