Foreign Agents Registration Act FARA

Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act in 1938 to expose Nazi propaganda being spread in the United States. It requires anyone acting as an agent of a foreign principal, such as a foreign government, political party, or company acting for one, to register with the Justice Department if they engage in political activities, public relations, or lobbying in the United States. Agents must disclose their activities, contracts, and payments and label informational materials they distribute.

Registrants include lobbying and law firms representing foreign governments, public relations firms polishing countries' images, and media outlets controlled by foreign states. Foreign governments and their agents report spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on U.S. influence. Lawyers and agents of foreign companies often register under the domestic Lobbying Disclosure Act instead, which has lighter requirements. The registrations are public in an online database.

For decades FARA was rarely enforced, but prosecutors used it more after 2016, including in cases arising from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. In February 2025 the Attorney General directed that criminal FARA charges be limited mostly to conduct resembling traditional spying and disbanded the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force, while later directives added FARA cases to terrorism task forces. Lawmakers of both parties have proposed tightening the law and closing the commercial loophole, while others warn that broad laws could chill legitimate advocacy.