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> The US government has already charged 13 Russians, linked to the agency, with attempting to manipulate American voters using social media. Is that illegal no

> The US government has already charged 13 Russians, linked to the agency, with attempting to manipulate American voters using social media. Is that illegal now?

IntronExon 9y ago
It always has been, in the form alleged here.
JamesLeonis 9y ago
If you are a foreign government or individual that wants to lobby or advertise politically, you must register with FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act). > The purpose of FARA is to insure that the U.S. Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S.
Tech-Noir 9y ago
It may be in the US. Doubt it is in Russia though. "Charging" them is a pantomime; Russia won't, and AFAIK legally can't, extradite them anyway. (I'm assuming they were and are in Russia, not the US.)
GCU-Empiricist 9y ago
Great question. It'll be interesting to look and see what law the charges are files under. . . https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download Charges 1.Conspiracy to defraud (being unregistered foreign agents acting in politics and stealing SSNs to bring money in), 2. Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Bank Fraud (laundering money to pay for ads and using stolen SSNs) 3. Identity theft (SSNs) So the answer is yes it's illegal to be a state actor propagandizing if you aren't registered under the Foreign Agent Restriction Act (which I'll have to read and chuckle over) and based on a quick scan of the primary document the indictments are for the way they tried to work around it.
- bufferoverflow 9y ago
  Looks the charges have nothing to do with manipulation. Not directly at least.

> The US government has already charged 13 Russians, linked to the agency, with attempting to manipulate American voters using social media. Is that illegal now?

IntronExon 9y ago

It always has been, in the form alleged here.

JamesLeonis 9y ago

If you are a foreign government or individual that wants to lobby or advertise politically, you must register with FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act). > The purpose of FARA is to insure that the U.S. Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S.

Tech-Noir 9y ago

It may be in the US. Doubt it is in Russia though. "Charging" them is a pantomime; Russia won't, and AFAIK legally can't, extradite them anyway. (I'm assuming they were and are in Russia, not the US.)

GCU-Empiricist 9y ago

Great question. It'll be interesting to look and see what law the charges are files under. . . https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download https://www.justice.gov/file/1035477/download Charges 1.Conspiracy to defraud (being unregistered foreign agents acting in politics and stealing SSNs to bring money in), 2. Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Bank Fraud (laundering money to pay for ads and using stolen SSNs) 3. Identity theft (SSNs) So the answer is yes it's illegal to be a state actor propagandizing if you aren't registered under the Foreign Agent Restriction Act (which I'll have to read and chuckle over) and based on a quick scan of the primary document the indictments are for the way they tried to work around it.

bufferoverflow 9y ago
Looks the charges have nothing to do with manipulation. Not directly at least.