On February 3, 2023, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), re-introduced the “Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act,” also known as the FACT Act. According to Rep. Stefanik:
“Specifically, this bill would provide critical telecommunications transparency by requiring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publish a list of companies who hold FCC authorizations, licenses, or other grants of authority with over 10% or more ownership by foreign adversarial governments, including China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.”
The legislation was co-sponsored by Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Congressman Mike Gallagher (R-WI). The bill was supported by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr who stated:
“We know that the CCP is engaged in a widespread and coordinated campaign to surveil Americans, and they are willing to use every tool at their disposal to advance their malign goals. Indeed, one of the means by which the CCP does this is by exerting control over and exploiting vulnerabilities within global communications and technology supply chains. Increasing visibility into entities with FCC authorizations that have relationships with authoritarian regimes would bring much needed transparency and help strengthen America’s communications networks against threats from malign actors. So I am gratified to see bipartisan support in Congress for legislation to do just this.”
Importantly, this legislation is not limited to those holding a broadcast license. It would apply to all communications services regulated by the FCC.
You can find more information on the FACT Act here.
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