HISTORICAL ORIGINS The USA’s 1938 Act

Foreign agents laws are a growing contemporary threat, but the history stretches back decades, starting with the USA’s 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The US Congress passed this law primarily as a response to concerns about Nazi propaganda operations in the USA in the lead-up to the Second World War. It followed congressional investigations that uncovered evidence of German-funded propaganda efforts aimed at influencing public opinion to maintain US neutrality in the coming conflict.

FARA required individuals and organisations acting on behalf of foreign entities to register with the Department of State and disclose their relationships, activities and funding sources. The goal, as stated by its lead proponent, was to publicly expose foreign influence operations. In 1942 its enforcement was transferred to the Department of Justice.

As early as the 1950s, it became apparent that such laws, even if well intentioned in principle, can be misused to suppress dissent. The early Cold War was a period of intense anti-communist suspicion and political repression in the USA, with Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy spearheading an aggressive campaign of accusations and investigations against alleged communist sympathisers. The period was characterised by blacklists, loyalty oaths and open persecution. Many people, including civil rights advocates, saw their careers and personal lives disrupted due to often unsubstantiated allegations of foreign ties and communist sympathies.

In 1966, FARA was substantially amended, with its scope narrowed to focus more specifically on lobbying activities and requiring proof a person was acting ‘at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign principal’. These amendments reflected an acknowledgement that the original law was too broad and could impact on legitimate activities. As a result, FARA in its current form requires disclosure but doesn’t prohibit foreign lobbying. Over the years, it was used sparingly, with only seven criminal prosecutions between 1966 and 2015.

FARA remained an obscure piece of legislation for decades, but the 2016 US presidential election was a turning point. Concerns about Russian interference in US democratic processes prompted a major shift in enforcement. From 2017 onwards, FARA prosecutions increased significantly, with 21 criminal cases filed up to 2024, tripling the number of the previous 50 years.

Renewed enforcement brought immediate international repercussions. In 2017, the USA required RT (formerly Russia Today), the Russian state-funded TV network, to register as a foreign agent. Russia responded swiftly by expanding its foreign agents law, in force since 2012, to include media organisations, directly targeting outlets such as Radio Free Europe and Voice of America.

From 2022 onwards, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there has been a further proliferation of foreign agents laws globally, often justified by national security concerns but used to restrict legitimate civil society activities.

By 2025, concerns have grown about legislative restrictions in the USA, with state-level foreign agents registration laws introduced that could significantly impact on civil society and civic freedoms. Nebraska’s Foreign Agent And Terrorist Agent Registration Act, for instance, imposes sweeping registration requirements for any agent of a foreign principal from designated foreign adversaries under the US federal code: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela.

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law has warned that these state laws’ definitions and broad scope could affect CSOs engaged in legitimate academic exchanges, humanitarian work and other forms of international cooperation simply because they receive funding from or collaborate with partners in designated countries, effectively chilling cross-border partnerships.