FCC Lays Groundwork to Identify Foreign Adversary Ownership in U.S. Communications Industry

The Federal Communications Commission voted to begin a process to formalize the identification of entities holding licenses and authorizations in the communications sector that are controlled by a foreign adversary both at present and on a rolling basis going forward. The U.S. Government has long recognized that foreign adversaries have been engaged in a widespread and coordinated effort to exploit, attack, and otherwise compromise the integrity of U.S. communications networks.  Acting to counter these threats, the FCC has spearheaded a number of initiatives including creating the Covered List of equipment and services that pose unacceptable risks to national security and revoking foreign adversary authorizations.  This latest proposed effort of certification and information collection requirements would give the FCC a new and comprehensive view of threats from foreign adversaries by identifying entities holding licenses and authorizations in the communications sector that are subject to the ownership, jurisdiction, direction, and control of a foreign adversary.