On January 30, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Report and Order (the Order) addressing potential national security risks that foreign adversaries and entities with ties to foreign adversaries pose to US communications networks. In particular, the Order adopts attestation filing and ownership reporting requirements for a wide range of FCC licensees and other FCC-regulated entities to enable greater transparency into foreign adversary control. The Order also establishes enforcement mechanisms in the event of late, incomplete, or inaccurate reporting, and adopts streamlined license revocation procedures to address instances of foreign adversary control that the FCC deems a risk to the nation’s communications networks.
Notably, these newly established foreign adversary control attestation and ownership disclosure obligations apply not only to communications service providers and broadcasters whose businesses are primarily regulated by the FCC, but also equipment manufacturers that have FCC equipment certifications and businesses in other industries that hold FCC licenses for the use of internal wireless communication systems.
Over the past several years, the FCC has taken steps to identify and mitigate perceived risks to US national security posed by foreign adversary influence and involvement in the nation’s communications services sector.
For instance, the FCC maintains a “covered list” of equipment and services supplied by certain Chinese and Russian companies that may not be used in networks of carriers that receive Universal Service Fund support, and generally prohibits equipment from these suppliers being authorized for marketing and importation to the US. In addition, the FCC has refused to authorize one Chinese company to provide telecommunications services to or in the US and has revoked existing common carrier authorizations from several others. Most recently, in August 2025, the FCC adopted rules limiting the ability of foreign adversaries from obtaining licenses to land submarine cables in the US.
The Order reflects the latest effort by the FCC to safeguard the US from national security threats posed by foreign adversaries in a position to exert control over certain entities that hold FCC licenses or otherwise engage with the FCC.
In the Order, the FCC (1) formulates a three-tiered foreign adversary control attestation and ownership disclosure framework that requires more detailed disclosures where foreign adversary control poses greater threats to national security and to minimize burdens on licensees and regulated entities that pose less of a threat, (2) specifies the types of licenses and FCC-regulated activities that fall into each reporting tier, and (3) establishes enforcement mechanisms to address non-compliance with these obligations and to mitigate instances of foreign adversary control deemed by the FCC to pose an unacceptable risk to US national security.
For purposes of the reporting obligations established by the Order, the term “foreign adversary” is defined by reference to a list maintained by the US Department of Commerce, which currently includes China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. And “foreign adversary control” in this context exists where a licensee or other entity engaged in FCC-regulated activities is “owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary.”
Notably, this definition of foreign adversary control (which the FCC first adopted in its 2025 rules restricting such control of submarine cable landing licenses) is remarkably broad, encompassing arrangements in which a foreign adversary — or an individual or entity subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary — through as low as a 10% equity or voting interest, possesses the power (whether or not exercised) to determine, direct, or decide important matters affecting an entity, as well as those in which an entity is subject to the direct or indirect supervision, direction, or control of, or is financed or subsidized in whole or in majority part by, a foreign adversary.
The Order’s cornerstone is a three-tier reporting framework that — depending on the type(s) of licenses an entity holds, or the other FCC-regulated activities in which it is engaged (as categorized into Schedule A, B, or C, described below) — requires:
Moreover, any entity that affirmatively attests to being subject to foreign adversary control is further required to disclose:
Initial foreign adversary control attestations and, where applicable, ownership disclosures will be required to be filed within 60 days (or 120 days, for small entities) of the launch of a new reporting system — the Foreign Adversary Control System (FACS) — being developed for this purpose. Thereafter, new or updated attestations and/or disclosures will be required to be made on an ongoing basis, following or in connection with the occurrence of various events specified in the Order, including:
Based on perceived risks posed by foreign adversary control to US national security over particular components of the nation’s communications networks, the Order categorizes FCC-issued licenses, as well as certain FCC-regulated activities, into Schedules A, B, and C:
Schedule A includes licenses and FCC-regulated activities that present “heightened national security risks because [their] exploitation” by foreign adversaries “could directly compromise the integrity of the nation’s security networks.” Schedule A licensees and authorization holders required to submit an attestation affirming or denying the presence of foreign adversary control are those that hold or operate pursuant to broadband-capable geographic-area wireless licenses, space and earth station authorizations, broadcast licenses (provided that the entity has six or more full-time employees), submarine cable landing licenses, international section 214 authorizations, domestic Section 214 authority, eligible telecommunications carrier designations, VoIP direct access to numbering resources authorizations, and equipment authorization certifications, as well as those that have been granted declaratory rulings regarding foreign ownership under Section 310(b).
Schedule B encompasses licenses and FCC-regulated activities over which foreign adversary control presents lower “systemic national security risks” but that nevertheless relate to “markets or … services where knowledge of [such control] would be critical to the [FCC]’s oversight and protection of the nation’s communications networks.” Schedule B licensees and authorization holders required to submit an attestation only in the event that they are subject to foreign adversary control include those that hold site-based wireless licenses, mandatory antenna structure registrations, and broadcast licenses (provided that the entity has five or fewer full-time employees). Notably, site-based wireless licensees include businesses that are not primarily regulated by the FCC, but that rely on such licenses for purely internal communications and other purposes, such as manufacturing facilities that utilize business radios (i.e., walkie-talkies) to coordinate site security and utilities that employ wireless telemetry equipment for remote monitoring and control functions.
Schedule C consists of licenses and FCC-regulated activities that are likely to be subject to only limited foreign adversary control and, in any event, whose “role in communications networks presents minimal national security risks.” Entities and individuals holding only licenses and authorizations on Schedule C, which are exempt from the foreign adversary control attestation requirement, include those that hold Amateur Radio Service licenses and licensed-by-rule authorizations in the Ship, Aircraft, and Personal Radio Services, as well as entities that obtain equipment authorizations under the Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity process.
Finally, the Order specifies the enforcement mechanisms available to address non-compliance with these reporting requirements and to mitigate national security risks posed by foreign adversary control of licensees and other covered entities. In particular, late or non-responsive filers, or incomplete or inaccurate filings, may be referred to the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau for investigation. In cases of egregious non-compliance, or where the presence of foreign adversary control is deemed by the FCC to pose an unacceptable risk to US national security, the Order contemplates the initiation of streamlined proceedings to revoke the license at issue.
Once the FACS is launched, the FCC will issue a Public Notice specifying the deadlines for the submission of initial foreign adversary control attestations and associated ownership disclosures. In the meantime, entities that hold licenses from the FCC, or that engage in other FCC-regulated activities, should undertake to determine whether they fall under Schedule A, B, or C, evaluate whether they are subject to foreign adversary control, and begin collecting information for inclusion in any required reports.