Lobbying Transparency and Disclosure
How different countries attempt to make lobbying visible through disclosure requirements, why transparency alone is insufficient, and the innovations that could make lobbying fairer.
Global Disclosure Regimes
The United States has the oldest mandatory lobbying disclosure system, with the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 requiring lobbyists to register, report their clients, and disclose spending. The EU's Transparency Register, while increasingly mandatory, still relies partly on voluntary compliance. Canada, Australia, and the UK have their own registration systems with varying scope and enforcement.
Most countries, however, have no lobbying disclosure requirements at all. In much of Latin America, Africa, and Asia, lobbying is unregulated and invisible. Even where disclosure exists, the definition of 'lobbying' is often narrow, excluding strategic consulting, think tank funding, grassroots mobilization, and other influence activities that serve the same purpose as direct lobbying. The result is that official lobbying registers capture only a fraction of actual influence activity.