Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act

Senate Bill

S. 259

119th Congress

Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act

Held at the desk.

Introduced:Jan 27, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Deb Fischer

Senator

Republican

NE

Cosponsors

3

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Science, Technology, Communications

Summary

This bill requires the FCC to publicly identify telecommunications license holders with ties to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia. The agency must annually publish lists of entities holding cable landing licenses or auction-granted licenses that have foreign adversary connections, and must establish rules to collect ownership information from all other licensees. The goal is to increase transparency about foreign influence in U.S. communications infrastructure.

Latest Action

Held at the desk.

SponsorDeb Fischer (R-NE)

Introduced1/27/2025

StatusHeld at the desk.

ChamberSenate

Data from Congress.gov

See this page through your district lens

Enter ZIP to personalize representatives and vote context.

Stay on top of this issue

Subscribe for weekly bill and representative updates.

Vote Prediction

Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act

This bill requires the FCC to publicly identify telecommunications license holders with ties to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia. The agency must annually publish lists of entities holding cable landing licenses or auction-granted licenses that have foreign

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill requires the FCC to publicly identify telecommunications license holders with ties to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia. The agency must annually publish lists of entities holding cable landing licenses or auction-granted licenses that have foreign adversary connections, and must establish rules to collect ownership information from all other licensees. The goal is to increase transparency about foreign influence in U.S. communications infrastructure.

Bill Number: 259
Sponsor: Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Introduced: 1/27/2025
Status: Held at the desk.
Policy Area: Science, Technology, Communications

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act
Bill Number: 259
Sponsor: Deb Fischer (R-NE)
Status: Held at the desk.
Introduced: 1/27/2025
Summary: This bill requires the FCC to publicly identify telecommunications license holders with ties to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia. The agency must annually publish lists of entities holding cable landing licenses or auction-granted licenses that have foreign adversary connections, and must establi

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill requires the FCC to publicly identify telecommunications license holders with ties to China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia. The agency must annually publish lists of entities holding cable landing licenses or auction-granted licenses that have foreign adversary connections, and must establish rules to collect ownership information from all other licensees. The goal is to increase transparency about foreign influence in U.S. communications infrastructure.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency ActThis bill requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to annually publish a list of entities that hold a license or other authorization granted by the FCC and have ties to specified foreign countries.With respect to entities holding cable landing licenses (for the placement and operation of submarine communications cables) or other licenses granted via competitive auction, the FCC must publish a list of all such entities (1) in which a covered entity holds a specified voting or equity interest, or (2) that have been determined by a national security agency to be subject to the control of a covered entity. With respect to entities holding all other categories of FCC licenses or other authorizations, the FCC must first issue rules facilitating the collection of information on such licensees’ ownership structure. After that information is obtained, the FCC must add to the published list any such entity in which a covered entity holds a specified voting or equity interest. Under the bill, a covered entity is defined as an entity organized in China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia; a subsidiary of such an entity; or the government of China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Requires annual FCC publication of licensees with foreign adversary ties
Covers cable landing licenses and auction-granted authorizations
Defines covered entities as those organized in or controlled by China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia
Mandates new rules for collecting ownership information from all FCC licensees
Includes subsidiaries and foreign government-controlled entities

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This legislation addresses growing concerns about foreign adversary influence in U.S. telecommunications. For consumers, it provides transparency about which companies operating U.S. communications infrastructure have foreign ties. For businesses, it may create additional compliance requirements for ownership disclosure. For national security, it gives regulators and the public better visibility into potential security risks in the communications sector.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Science, Technology, Communications

Related Subjects

Asia

Caribbean area

China

Corporate finance and management

Cuba

Foreign and international corporations

Government information and archives

Iran

Latin America

Licensing and registrations

+4 more

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

259, 119th Congress (2025). "Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-259