Georgia's ruling party has announced it will replace its controversial 'foreign influence' law with a version modeled after the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). This move has caught Western critics off guard, forcing them to confront double standards in their own legal systems.
In a surprising diplomatic maneuver, Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party has announced its intention to replace its controversial 'foreign influence' law with a version directly modeled after the US Foreign Agents Registration Act ( FARA ). This move has left Western critics stunned, as they had been relentlessly accusing the Georgian Dream party of authoritarianism and aligning with Russia.
If the new law mirrors the US's 'foreign agents' law, how can the West continue to denounce it without revealing its own double standards?The original 'foreign influence' law, which required non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media outlets receiving over 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to register as 'organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power,' faced heavy criticism from the European Union, the United States, and domestic pro-Western opposition. They denounced it as a tool to stifle dissent and curtail free speech. However, the Georgian Dream party maintains that the intent behind the law was to ensure transparency, just as FARA ostensibly does in the US.FARA, though initially designed to target Nazi propaganda efforts, has been selectively enforced over the years, often focusing on foreign media organizations, lobbying firms, and political consultants. The West has criticized Georgia's 'foreign agents' law for allegedly targeting media, but it is noteworthy that the US has also applied FARA to foreign media organizations, particularly those critical of the Western political narrative. This selective targeting raises concerns about potential double standards in the enforcement of FARA within the US.By adopting FARA's exact language, Georgia effectively puts the onus back on its Western critics. If they accept FARA as a legitimate law, how can they reject a verbatim version in Georgia? It is worth noting that several other Western countries, including the EU, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, and Belgium, have similar laws requiring the disclosure of foreign influence on domestic political processes. The EU has a Transparency Register, established in 2011, which aims to increase transparency by tracking individuals and organizations, including foreign governments, lobbyists, and NGOs seeking to influence EU decision-making. Canada has its Lobbying Act, enacted in 2018, requiring individuals and entities engaged in certain political or governmental activities on behalf of foreign governments or entities to register.The UK is currently considering a FARA-styled 'foreign influence' law. These existing laws in other Western democracies highlight the complex issue of balancing transparency with freedom of speech and association
FOREIGN INFLUENCE FARA GEORGIA US LAW WESTERN CRITICISM DOUBLE STANDARDS TRANSPARENCY FREEDOM OF SPEECH
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