1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov February 25, 2020Foreign Agents Registration Act: A Legal OverviewIn 1938, Congress enacted the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to reduce the influence of foreign propaganda circulating in the United States. Anticipating that greater transparency could help ach
2、ieve these ends, Congress imposed new registration, reporting, and record-keeping requirements on entities acting within the United States on behalf of foreign interests. While the act has been amended many times, the early framework endures: persons defined as “agents” of a “foreign principal” must
3、 register with the U.S. government, make a public record of the nature of their employment, and maintain all private records for official inspection. FARA contains broad exemptions, however, and, because there have been few administrative or judicial enforcement actions, a number of ambiguities abou
4、t the scope of the acts requirements and exemptions persist. Who Is a Foreign Principal? FARA defines “foreign principal” to include governments of foreign countries; foreign political parties; entities organized under the laws of a foreign country or having their principal place of business in a fo