Key Takeaways
- The FCC’s January 29 order mandates broad attestations and disclosures for entities regulated by the FCC and under foreign control, effective roughly in late March.
- Reporting requirements fall into Schedules A (mandatory attestation), B (attest if controlled), and C (generally no initial attestation).
- Entities under foreign adversary control must disclose 5% or greater ownership, identify adversaries, meet ongoing timelines, and face potential enforcement for noncompliance.
Continuing its active approach to national security-oriented regulatory activity over the last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) issued a Report and Order (Order) on January 29, 2026, establishing new attestation and public disclosure requirements designed to increase transparency regarding whether and to what extent foreign adversaries hold interests in licensees, authorization holders, and other regulated entities. The Order also directs the creation of a centralized reporting system and explains enforcement procedures. The Order will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, which typically occurs within two to four weeks from adoption (i.e., likely in late March).
Definitions
The FCC has enforced foreign ownership restrictions for certain spectrum licensees and other regulated entities for decades under its organic act, the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. However, in recent years, the FCC has sought to restrict or revoke licenses and other authorizations held by foreign adversaries. The Order builds on these recent measures by imposing new reporting requirements related to “foreign adversary control,” meaning entities “owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary.”
Foreign adversary control. Consistent with other national security regulatory provisions, the Order defines “foreign adversary” to include:
- The People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong and Macau
- Cuba
- Iran
- North Korea
- Russia
- Venezuelan politician Nicolás Maduro
Foreign adversary country. The term “foreign adversary country” includes both foreign governments identified as foreign adversaries and countries controlled by a foreign adversary.
Owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary. This term covers:
- Any individual or entity, wherever located, who acts as an agent, representative, or employee, or any person who acts in any other capacity at the order, request, or under the direction or control, of a foreign adversary or of an individual or entity whose activities are directly or indirectly supervised, directed, controlled, financed, or subsidized in whole or in majority part by a foreign adversary
- Any individual, wherever located, who is a citizen of a foreign adversary or a country controlled by a foreign adversary and is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States
- Any entity, including a corporation, partnership, association, or other organization, that has a principal place of business in, or is headquartered in, incorporated in, or otherwise organized under the laws of a foreign adversary or a country controlled by a foreign adversary
- Any entity, including a corporation, partnership, association, or other organization, wherever organized or doing business, that is owned or controlled by a foreign adversary, to include circumstances in which any person identified above possesses the power, direct or indirect, whether or not exercised, through the ownership of a majority or a dominant minority (10% or greater) of the total outstanding voting interest and/or equity interest, or through a controlling interest, in an entity, board representation, proxy voting, a special share, contractual arrangements, formal or informal arrangements to act in concert, or other means, to determine, direct, or decide important matters affecting an entity
The Order explains that the Commission set the 10% threshold and included equity and controlling interests as well as voting interests to both promote cross-agency regulatory consistency and support national security goals by “capturing all mechanisms of Foreign Adversary Control.” To the extent a regulated entity believes that a foreign adversary interest holder’s 10% or greater voting and/or equity interest does not allow the interest holder to “determine, direct, or decide important matters affecting an entity,” the regulated entity must attest affirmatively to the Commission and “demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence why such interest does not” do so.
Risk-Based Schedule Framework
The Order sorts all licenses, leases, authorizations, permits, grants, and other approvals subject to the foreign adversary control reporting requirements into three schedules (A, B, and C) based on a variety of factors, including national security risks and reporting burdens.
Federally recognized tribal nations, businesses controlled by federally recognized tribal nations, and state and local governmental entities are exempt from the Order’s attestation and disclosure requirements.
Schedule A
Holders of or applicants for authorizations on Schedule A are required to attest as to whether or not they are subject to foreign adversary control. If a regulated entity is unsure of how to respond, the entity “must respond ‘yes,’ and Commission staff will review the matter.” “No” responses will be taken as definitive, and filers will not be permitted to seek clarification or include any explanatory information in their responses.
Schedule A includes authorizations that the FCC has determined pose a heightened national security risk because their exploitation by a foreign adversary “could directly compromise the integrity of the nation’s communications networks.” The Commission also considered regulated entities’ resources to comply with mandatory reporting burdens.
Schedule A consists of:
- Broadband-capable geographic-area wireless licenses capable of 4G or 5G mobile broadband service and Commission-certified frequency coordinator certifications
- Pending and granted section 310(b) petitions for declaratory ruling related to foreign investment in radio station licensees
- Space and earth station authorizations
- Broadcast licenses, Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) licenses, international broadcast station (IBS) licenses, and Section 325(c) authorizations for entities with six or more full-time employees
- Broadcasters that lease airtime to foreign adversaries (such entities must file the information provided by the foreign adversary lessee in accordance with the Commission’s foreign sponsorship identification rules)
- Submarine cable landing licenses
- Domestic and international Section 214 authorizations
- Eligible telecommunications carriers
- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) direct access to numbering resources authorizations
- Equipment authorization certifications except for authorizations under a Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity (SDoC)
- Data Network Identification Codes
- International Signaling Point Codes
- Designations as a recognized operating agency under the International Telecommunication Convention
- Internet-based telecommunications relay service certifications
Schedule B
Holders of or applicants for authorizations on Schedule B must make an attestation only if they are subject to foreign adversary control.
Schedule B includes authorizations that pose a lower risk than Schedule A authorizations but nevertheless involve “operat[ing] in markets or provid[ing] services where knowledge of the presence of Foreign Adversary Control would be critical to the Commission’s oversight and protection of the nation’s communications networks.”
Schedule B consists of:
- Site-based wireless licenses and geographic-area wireless licenses not covered by Schedule A or C and FCC-appointed managers of third-party registration databases
- Broadcast licenses, CARS licenses, IBS licenses, and Section 325(c) authorizations for entities with five or fewer full-time employees
- Antenna structure registration system registrations subject to mandatory filing requirements under 47 CFR § 17.4(a)
Schedule C
Holders of or applicants for authorizations on Schedule C are exempt from initially attesting as to whether or not they are subject to foreign adversary control.
Schedule C includes authorizations for which the FCC assesses there is a limited likelihood of foreign adversary control, other reporting obligations already provide sufficient visibility into foreign ownership or control, authorization holders’ role in communications networks presents minimal national security risks, or authorization holders are already subject to other Commission regulations that adequately address the national security risks.
Schedule C consists of:
- Amateur radio service licenses
- Voluntary antenna structure registrations
- Ship and aircraft licenses
- General Mobile Radio Service licenses
- Commercial radio operator licenses (pursuant to 47 CFR part 13)
- Authorizations for individuals to operate stations by rule in the ship, aircraft, and personal radio services
- FCC auction applications
- Equipment authorizations obtained solely under the SDoC process
Future Adjustments
The Order delegates to the FCC bureaus and offices responsible for issuing authorizations the authority to modify the list of authorizations within each schedule to add a new authorization, reassign an existing authorization from one schedule to another, or remove an authorization from the schedules, subject to analysis of the following factors:
- National security risks
- Administrability for both the Commission and regulated entities
- Burdens on regulated entities
- Other criteria deemed relevant by the applicable bureau or office
Required Reporting for Entities Subject to Foreign Adversary Control
Initial Disclosure Requirements
The Order imposes broad ownership reporting and monitoring requirements for regulated entities subject to foreign adversary control. Any regulated entity that affirmatively attests to being subject to foreign adversary control must disclose to the FCC additional information about such control, including:
- An ownership diagram illustrating the entity’s vertical ownership structure, including all 5% or greater direct or indirect equity and/or voting interest holders and controlling interest holders, and providing additional information about these interest holders
- The foreign adversary or foreign adversary country or countries the entity is owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of
- The nature of the foreign adversary ownership, control, jurisdiction, or direction to which the entity is subject
The entity must also attest to the truth and accuracy of all information in its disclosures.
Regulated entities holding or applying for a Schedule A or B authorization must file an initial attestation with the Commission within 60 days (or 120 days for “small entities” meeting the definition of a small business for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980) after public notice of the launch of a new, consolidated reporting system, discussed further below. The information filed must be accurate as of the start of that 60-day period.
Ongoing Obligations
Regulated entities holding a Schedule A or B authorization must file new attestations and, if affirmative, make additional disclosures in certain circumstances.
- A regulated entity that holds a Schedule A or B authorization must file a new attestation:
- Within 30 days of becoming subject to foreign adversary control, to the extent that the change does not require Commission approval or
- Within 60 days, or within 120 days for small entities, of the effective date of an addition to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s list of foreign adversaries in 15 CFR § 791.4 of a foreign government or foreign nongovernment person that has control over the regulated entity
- When an authorization is added to Schedule A, any regulated entity that holds such an authorization must file an attestation within 30 days of the effective date of the addition.
- A regulated entity that holds a Schedule A or B authorization and is subject to foreign adversary control, or any other regulated entity whose last attestation was affirmative, must file a new attestation:
- Upon application for any new scheduled authorization
- Upon application for an assignment, except a pro forma assignment, of any scheduled authorization held by the regulated entity
- Upon application for renewal of any scheduled authorization
- Upon application for modification of any scheduled authorization
- Within 30 days of any changes to 5% or greater direct or indirect equity and/or voting interests, or controlling interests, held in the regulated entity or
- Within 30 days of the effective date of the addition of an authorization held by the regulated entity to Schedule B
- Any regulated entity, regardless of foreign adversary control, must file an attestation:
- Upon application for a Schedule A authorization or
- Upon application for the entity to be the transferee or assignee of a Schedule A authorization, except in the case of a pro forma transfer of control or assignment
- Any regulated entity that is subject to foreign adversary control must file an attestation:
- Upon application for a Schedule B authorization
- Upon application for the entity to be the transferee or assignee of a Schedule B authorization, except in the case of a pro forma transfer of control or assignment or
- Upon application for modification of a Schedule A or B authorization that would cause the entity to be a licensee or lessee of the authorization
- Any regulated entity whose last attestation was affirmative must file an attestation within 30 days of determining that it is no longer subject to foreign adversary control.
Reporting Database
The Commission will create a consolidated reporting database called the Foreign Adversary Control System for all required attestations and disclosures. Reporting will generally be made available to the public, but the Order acknowledges the possibility that certain information may need to remain nonpublic and directs bureaus and offices to coordinate regarding such withholding.
Enforcement
The Order indicates that the Commission may take a range of enforcement actions against regulated entities that fail to comply, including issuing citations, imposing monetary penalties, or more serious actions that result in license or authorization revocations. Relevant licensing bureaus and offices are directed to refer holders of and applicants for Schedule A authorizations that fail to file the required attestation or file late, and may also refer any regulated entity whose attestation they believe is incomplete or inaccurate, to the Enforcement Bureau for possible enforcement action. The FCC’s authority to impose monetary fines is currently uncertain in the wake of SEC v. Jarkesy (2024) and a split among circuit courts that followed it, which the Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to resolve in Verizon v. FCC.
The Order further details streamlined revocation procedures consisting of (1) notice of deficiency and opportunity to respond (except in the case of willfulness or those in which public health, interest, or safety requires otherwise); (2) order to show cause; and (3) order on revocation. The Enforcement Bureau and licensing bureaus and offices are also authorized to use additional procedures if necessary.
