The Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, was created to prevent foreign propaganda, from individuals or companies, from swaying the American public.
Those working on behalf of a foreign government in the US must register with the US Department of Justice, which then publishes the information online.
Registering under FARA does not prohibit a news outlet from operating and publishing.
US-based companies working with Japan's broadcaster NHK, China's The China Daily newspaper, and Russia's state-funded TV network RT are all registered under FARA.
Now, CNN reports the DOJ has taken aim at Al Jazeera's US-based online news platform, AJ+.
Monday, AJ+ was notified that it must register as a foreign agent, as the DOJ deems it 'an agent of the Government of Qatar.'
The designation for AJ+ came on the same day that Bahrain and the UAE signed agreements to normalize relations with Israel at the White House.
The event attended by Qatari officials who were in Washington for a series of bilateral meetings with the US just the previous day.
