‘Narrow’ Foreign Agent Rules May Create Gaps in Countering Influence Operations

Global News quoted Covington’s Alexandra Langton in a report examining Canada’s newly proposed foreign agent registry and concerns that its scope may be too limited to address covert foreign influence campaigns. The article analyzes draft regulations released under the Foreign Interference Transparency and Accountability Act, which would require certain individuals and organizations acting on behalf of foreign entities to register publicly.

Alex, a Washington-based lawyer with Covington’s FARA practice, said the Canadian law could miss some covert ways in which foreign states try to shape political opinion.

For instance, the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) can broadly address any activity that aims to alter policy or public opinion in the country, Langton said. The Canadian law “appears to be a little more narrow” in that it focuses exclusively on political or government processes, rather than broader public opinion.

“I think it has a lot to do with the origins of FARA, as this 1938 statute that was developed in response to Nazi propaganda in the United States, where there were these seemingly U.S. persons on corners handing out propaganda, promoting the Nazi government that seemed to be speaking with U.S. voices,” she said.

“In the United States, we’re really concerned about addressing that and shining a spotlight on who the real speaker was there. That type of activity may not be covered by the more narrow set of influence activities addressed in the Canadian statute.”