The Georgian Parliament has passed the final reading of a new "foreign agents" law that targets both organisations and individuals who receive foreign funding and fail to register with the Justice Ministry. The bill had drawn sharp criticism from Georgian opposition parties as well as U.S. and EU officials, who believe this bill will be used as a tool to suppress civil society and independent media.
The law replaces a controversial version adopted in May 2024 and broadens the definition of foreign agents to include individuals. Non-compliance to the law is punishable by up to five years in prison or a $10,000 fine.
Based on the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), the Georgian version includes a set of restrictive changes to the country’s broadcasting law. FARA, originally enacted in the U.S. in 1938 to counter Nazi and Soviet ideology, requires foreign lobbyists to disclose their ties and funding sources. The law has rarely been enforced, only a handful of cases have led to criminal charges in recent decades.
Georgian opposition leaders have argued that the Georgian Dream party’s use of FARA as a model is misleading, as the U.S. law is narrowly applied and not used to target NGOs or media, unlike the Georgian version.
The legislation includes criminal penalties for noncompliance, which lawmakers say are meant to ensure the public knows how foreign funds are used. Several NGOs have began re-registering in countries like Estonia to avoid falling under the law’s jurisdiction.
Originally, the first version of the foreign agents bill was passed in May 2024, in its third and final reading. Opponents claim that the law, backed by Georgian Dream, mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on the Kremlin’s critics and NGOs in Russia with foreign ties of any kind.
Georgian Dream’s approach towards the independent media and decisions to slow down the country from the process of EU accession have prompted mass protests spanning months together with violent crackdowns by the police.
