S. 259 · Where this bill is now
In the House
Passed the Senate Oct 23, 2025. Received Oct 24, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryFCC must track foreign-tied communications companies
Ever wonder which companies operating in the U.S. have ties to countries like China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia? This bill requires the FCC to publish an annual list of companies that hold licenses to operate communications equipment and have connections to those countries. For submarine cable companies and those winning competitive auctions, the FCC lists them right away. For other licensed communications companies, the FCC first sets up a process to collect information about who owns them, then adds those with foreign ties to the list.
How it affects you
This is mainly a transparency measure for the government and the public rather than something that changes daily life directly. The bill gives people and policymakers information about which communications companies operating in the U.S. have ties to specific foreign countries.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Jan 27, 2025)
Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act
This 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.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionS. 259
AN ACT
Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act
Sponsor: Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) · Introduced Jan 27, 2025 · Science, Technology, Communications · 3 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Oct 24, 2025: “Held at the desk.”
Sections
The wording of this bill hasn’t changed across its 3 official versions.