Senate Commerce Committee member Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act. The legislation would require the FCC to publicly identify entities that hold Commission licenses and authorizations that are owned, wholly or partially, by foreign adversarial governments, including China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
“Authoritarian regimes like China and Russia are actively working to undermine the security of our domestic communications. My bill will better position the FCC to evaluate the risks foreign ties pose to America’s national security so that we can respond to these network infrastructure threats,” said Fischer.
Until now, there has been no mandated public disclosure of companies linked to foreign adversaries operating within U.S. technology and telecommunication markets, notes Fischer. Although the FCC is prohibited from granting licenses or authorizations deemed a national security threat, some entities with ties to adversarial foreign governments continue to hold certain approvals. As a result, more transparency is necessary, she says.
The measure is bipartisan. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) joined Fischer as original cosponsors of the bill. In the House, Representatives Thomas Kean (R-NJ), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Ro Khanna (D-CA) will lead companion legislation.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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