Radio Lab

A troubling trend is taking root across Europe. Inspired by a 2012 Russian law, several authoritarian regimes are now experimenting with so-called "foreign agent laws." In Russia, this legislation has severely weakened political opposition, civil society, and independent media. It asks organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register with the authorities as “foreign agents.” In his report Foreign Agent Laws: A Worrying Trend, Christian Holland notes that “The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the archetypal foreign agent law violates fundamental rights and exhibits the “hallmarks of totalitarianism”, imposing punitive sanctions on NGOs and curtailing journalists’ ability to participate in public life.” In Georgia, a similar law was introduced in 2023 but was withdrawn after significant public and media resistance—only to be passed by the pro-Russian government in May 2024. Other countries are following. In May 2025, an EU member—Viktor Orbán’s Hungary—consider