FCC Chairman Carr's Response to Senator Cantwell Regarding Network Security

On November 18, 2025, Sen. Maria Cantwell sent Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr a letter expressing her strong opposition to his effort to roll back the FCC's ruling to secure telecommunications networks specifically put into place after last year’s Chinese-state-sponsored Salt Typhoon incursion—one of the worst cyberattacks in history. On January 21, Chairman Carr wrote that the FCC C has worked directly with carriers who have agreed to make extensive and coordinated efforts to harden their networks against a range of cyber intrusions.  These include accelerated patching of outdated or vulnerable equipment, updating and reviewing access controls, disabling unnecessary outbound connections, improving their threat-hunting efforts, and increasing cybersecurity information sharing.  All of these actions have been well within FCC legal authority and have effectively mitigated network vulnerabilities. In contrast, the Declaratory Ruling that was adopted was neither lawful nor effective.  It was unlawful because the FCC purported to read a statute requiring telecommunications carriers to allow lawful wiretaps within a certain portion of their network as a provision that required carriers to adopt specific network management practices in every portion of their network.  It was ineffective because it neither responded to the nature of the relevant cybersecurity threats nor was it consistent with the agile and collaborative approach to cybersecurity that has proven successful. "For all of these reasons, the Commission voted to reverse that unlawful and rushed approach to cybersecurity.  The FCC is committed to continuing to work to strengthen and harden the nation’s communications networks and infrastructure through meaningful partnerships and collaboration."