Fixing the FARA Mess

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) needs to be fixed. After the 2016 presidential election, there was a marked increase in concern about Russian and Chinese influence in U.S. politics, and many turned to FARA as a potential answer. The Act has provided needed transparency around lobbying by foreign governments and led to recent high profile prosecutions, including of Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort. However, FARA’s notoriously sweeping provisions have increasingly interfered with the operations of nonprofits, businesses, media, religious institutions, universities, and others with limited or no connection to foreign governments in a manner...