Cornhusker State News

The U.S. Senate has passed the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency (FACT) Act, a bill introduced by Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), aimed at strengthening the nation's telecommunications sector against potential threats from foreign adversaries.

“With the Senate passage of my FACT Act, we mark a crucial step in the mission to secure America’s tech and telecommunication markets from foreign adversaries. We cannot allow adversarial regimes like communist China and Russia to infiltrate our communication networks and undermine our people and country, which is why I introduced and shepherded this bill through the Senate. I’m grateful for the bipartisan support of my colleagues, and I look forward to getting this bill to the President’s desk to be signed into law,” Fischer said.

The legislation requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publicly identify entities that hold FCC licenses or authorizations if they are owned, wholly or partially, by governments considered foreign adversaries. This includes China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Previously, there was no requirement for public disclosure of companies with links to such foreign governments operating within U.S. technology and telecommunications sectors. While current regulations prevent the FCC from granting licenses deemed a national security threat, some entities with connections to these governments still maintain certain approvals. The new act seeks to address this gap by increasing transparency regarding ownership in these sectors.

More information about the text of the bill can be found here.