The “Georgian Dream” parliament adopted new, restrictive laws against independent and critical media through an accelerated procedure. These are the “Foreign Agents Registration Act” [FARA] and amendments to the “Law on Broadcasting” and the “Law on Grants.” These laws were adopted against a background of repression and violence taking place against activists and the media.
What the Restrictive Laws Entail:
Amendment to the Law “On Grants”
On April 16, 2025, “Georgian Dream” adopted the amendment to the “Law on Grants” in the third reading. According to the amendments:
- The grant provider (donor) must apply to the Government of Georgia to receive consent for the issuance of a grant;
- The grant recipient, if receiving a grant without consent, will be fined double the amount of the grant;
- The Anti-Corruption Bureau is granted additional powers, such as—the right to request a financial report from a person, as well as the right to question a physical person;
- The Anti-Corruption Bureau will be able to request “special category personal data” from public institutions, physical persons, and legal entities.
Non-governmental organizations responded to the amendment to the “Law on Grants” with a joint statement. “This law, by its essence and expected result, is an act of persecution against the people and aims to leave citizens face-to-face with the ruling party’s punitive system and prohibit international society’s support for them,” states the NGO declaration.
“Foreign Agents Registration Act” [FARA]
On April 1, 2025, the “Georgian Dream” parliament approved the “Foreign Agents Registration Act” [FARA]. The new law introduces the term “agent of a foreign principal.” According to the law’s definition, this may include an employee of an information service who “acts in Georgia for the benefit or interest of a foreign principal.” According to the law’s requirement, the registration application must be submitted to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which the law grants broad authority, including the right to request any information “based on national security and public interests.” Unlike other laws restricting media adopted by the “Georgian Dream” parliament, violation of FARA’s requirements will lead to both financial sanctions and up to five years of imprisonment. The adoption of FARA was assessed as a law restricting independent civil organizations and the media. “The ‘Georgian Dream,’ at first glance, appears to want to adopt the seemingly inappropriate FARA for controlling public and media organizations due to the strict criminal legal mechanisms provided for in the law and the selective and politically motivated application of the law at the individual level. Representatives of the ruling team openly point this out, including Irakli Kobakhidze, Shalva Papuashvili, and Mamuka Mdinaradze. In contrast to the American reality, the ruling team envisions and imagines that it will use the instrumentalization of the American-named law to damage civil society, without the firmly established guarantees of protecting independent courts and freedom of expression and association in Georgia,” states the declaration of the Social Justice Center.
Amendments to the Law “On Broadcasting”
On the very day FARA was adopted, April 1, 2025, “Georgian Dream” adopted amendments to the “Law on Broadcasting.” According to the amendment, foreign funding of broadcasters was completely prohibited, and the authority of the regulatory body, the National Communications Commission, was significantly increased, specifically bringing journalists’ professional activities into the sphere of regulation. According to the amendments introduced to the law, a broadcaster is prohibited from receiving direct or indirect funding and a foreign force is prohibited from purchasing services from a broadcaster, except for advertising or product placement. According to the amendment, broadcasters are prohibited from receiving direct or indirect funding in exchange for placing social advertising. According to the law, a foreign force is considered: a) a subject constituting a system of authority of a foreign state; b) a physical person who is not a citizen of Georgia; c) a legal entity that is not founded under the legislation of Georgia; d) an organizational unit or other type of association of persons that is founded under the law of a foreign state and/or international law. The amendment also introduces detailed regulations regarding television and radio broadcasting standards, including due accuracy of fact and the right of reply. Additionally, regulations are added concerning the fairness and impartiality of fact, the inviolability of private life, the obtaining and transmission of information using covert methods, the coverage of armed conflict, accidents and other emergency situations, and specific issues regarding the protection of minors.
“Transparency International Georgia” declares that these laws threaten the existence of critically-minded independent media.
Along with these laws, since 2024, the Law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence,” also known as the “Russian Law,” has been in effect in Georgia, which “Georgian Dream” adopted last year despite widespread public opposition and international criticism, and which aims to register non-governmental and media organizations whose income exceeds 20% from foreign organizations as organizations carrying out the interests of a “foreign force.”
