Washington, August 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has introduced legislation that would bring social-media influencers working on behalf of foreign interests under the country’s foreign-agent disclosure framework.
The Foreign Propaganda Disclosure Act would amend the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) to expressly include social-media influencers within the definition of a “publicity agent”. The measure was introduced by Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida along with Democrats Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Republican Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.
The proposed legislation defines a social-media influencer as a person with a monetised account on a social-media platform. Influencers would be subject to FARA’s registration and disclosure requirements when acting on behalf of a foreign government or other foreign principal under circumstances covered by the law. It would not automatically classify every monetised influencer as a foreign agent.
“There is a big difference between having an organic opinion and secretly acting on behalf of foreign interests to push propaganda to Americans,” Luna said, arguing that Americans should know when online voices shaping public debate are working for foreign interests.
Gonzalez said federal law needed to keep pace with the changing digital media environment as more Americans rely on social platforms for news and political discussion. He said the bill would increase transparency around paid partnerships between influencers and foreign governments.
Supporters say the proposal would close a transparency gap that foreign governments could exploit to influence American audiences without disclosing their involvement. The legislation would use the existing FARA framework rather than establish a separate regulatory regime for online personalities.
The lawmakers have not identified specific influencers or foreign governments that would be affected, nor provided an estimate of how many accounts could fall within the bill’s scope.
FARA, enacted in 1938, generally requires people and organisations acting as agents of foreign principals in covered political or public-relations activities in the United States to register with the Justice Department and disclose their relationships, activities and finances. The law is primarily a disclosure regime rather than a prohibition on foreign representation or political advocacy.
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