(The Center Square) – A Virginia congressman’s plan to uncover foreign ownership in U.S. telecommunications networks passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week with bipartisan support.
Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., introduced the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act in January. The bill would require the Federal Communications Commission to publish a list of companies that hold FCC licenses and are partly owned or controlled by foreign governments considered hostile to the United States.
The proposal is part of a larger push in Congress to address national security concerns tied to foreign access to U.S. communications infrastructure. Lawmakers have pointed to companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party and other adversaries as potential threats to American data and network security.
“This legislation is a critical step toward exposing the CCP’s malign influence,” Wittman said in a statement following the vote.
In remarks on the House floor, Wittman said the bill would “shine a light on this malign influence” and called it “the first step towards a stronger action to defend our communications infrastructure.” He added that companies like Huawei and ZTE should not be allowed “unfettered access to our telecommunications infrastructure” and warned that hostile governments are using “covert equity or voting interests” to gain control of U.S. tech assets.
He added that adversarial governments are “infiltrating our telecommunications networks, our technology sectors, for the sole purpose of doing harm to the United States and its friends.”
Under the FACT Act, the FCC would have 18 months to create rules for identifying affected companies and publish them in a public database. The agency would also be required to keep the list up to date as ownership changes.
Until now, there has been no mandated public disclosure of companies with said ties, despite concerns that entities linked to adversarial governments continue to operate within U.S. telecommunications networks.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the measure by voice vote on April 8.
Wittman’s bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J.; and Kathy Castor, D-Fla. It passed the House earlier this week and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
