[4] FARA was enacted in 1938 primarily to counter Nazi propaganda,[5][6] with an initial focus on criminal prosecution of subversive activities; since 1966, enforcement has shifted mostly to civil penalties and voluntary compliance.

[7] For most of its existence, FARA was relatively obscure and rarely invoked;[8] since 2017, the law has been enforced with far greater regularity and intensity, particularly against officials connected to the Trump administration.

[13][14] In 1796, prior to his retirement from the presidency, George Washington warned about foreign nations seeking to influence both the American government and the public, namely through local "tools and dupes".

[29] In 1966 the Act was amended and narrowed to emphasize agents actually working with foreign powers who sought economic or political advantage by influencing governmental decision-making.

This has resulted in a shift from the law's initial focus on criminal prosecution, as the number of successful civil cases and administrative resolutions increased since that time.

[36] Following a spike in public attention, registrations, and prominent cases in 2016, Foreign Affairs magazine declared, "FARA is no longer a forgotten and oft ignored piece of New Deal–era reforms.

[31] It also provides explicit exemptions for organizations engaged in "religious, scholastic, academic, or scientific pursuits or of the fine arts," as well as for those "not serving predominantly a foreign interest.

Additionally, there have been laws targeting specific foreign agents, such as the closure of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington, D.C. in 1981 and the prohibition against fundraising within the United States on behalf of certain violent groups opposed to the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.

[71] The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 prohibits, among other activities, domestic fundraising that benefits foreign organizations designated by the United States as terrorist.

[73] In the 1980s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted operations against the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) allegedly based on selective enforcement of FARA.

[74] It has been noted that during the same period it investigated CISPES, the FBI ignored possible FARA violations such as Soldier of Fortune magazine running back cover advertisements to help the Rhodesian national army recruit fighters.

In 1988 former Senator William Fulbright and former senior CIA official Victor Marchetti unsuccessfully petitioned the Department of Justice to register the lobby under the Act.

[87] In July 2020, Attorney General William Barr warned U.S. companies and executives that advocating on behalf of Chinese government interests may violate FARA requirements.

[88] In November 2021, Reuters reported that the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. sent letters to American executives urging them to lobby against bills seeking to enhance U.S. economic competitiveness, thereby sparking possible FARA concerns.