With certain exemptions, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires agents of foreign principals to register with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for conducting specified activities within the United States, including “political activities,” acting as a public relations counsel or political consultant, or representing a foreign principal before federal agencies. Registered agents must provide regular reports to the DOJ, detailing the activities they conduct on behalf of foreign principals and the compensation received from each foreign principal—which are more demanding requirements than those of the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

As predicted earlier this year in our January update, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has continued to ramp up enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and related political laws through criminal prosecution. This Legal Update provides a brief summary of recent criminal cases, and highlights several issues to watch in the coming months.

With recent high-profile prosecutions continuing to draw attention to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and related political laws, and a number of notable announcements by Department of Justice (DOJ) officials at a recent conference for practitioners,1 we anticipate continued focus on this enforcement area in 2024. This Legal Update details several issues to watch for.

On October 28, 2024, the US Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) issued a Final Rule to require the notification or prohibition of certain outbound investments and other transactions by US persons involving persons of countries of concern, and certain subsidiaries or parents thereof, engaged in activities involving three sensitive sectors: (1) semiconductors and microelectronics, (2) quantum information technologies, and (3) certain artificial intelligence (“AI”) systems. The Final Rule’s requirements will go into effect on January 2, 2025.

On October 21, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released an unpublished Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Provisions Pertaining to Preventing Access to US Sensitive Personal Data and Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern or Covered Persons.

Our lawyers have firsthand experience in national security programs and policies at the most senior levels of the US government. Mayer Brown's National Security practice advises clients on a wide spectrum of matters that involve sensitive national security issues.