Cybersecurity Policy Report, FCC Details Proposed Changes in Foreign Ownership Rules, (Jan 9, 2026)

By Paul Kirby, Lynn Stanton and Jeff Williams

The FCC plans to seek votes at its Jan. 29 meeting on an order requiring holders of certain FCC licenses, authorizations, and other approvals to disclose foreign ownership and an order codifying “key” foreign ownership requirements, according to a tentative agenda and draft items released yesterday.

The draft foreign adversary control transparency report and order in GN docket 25-166 follows a further notice of proposed rulemaking adopted last May that proposed to require entities that hold agency licenses, authorizations, and approvals to certify whether they are controlled by a foreign adversary and, if they are, to disclose all ownership interests greater than 5% and the nature of foreign adversary ownership and control (CPR, May 22, 2025). It also proposed to require a new certification within 30 days of any ownership changes involving a foreign adversary, or for entities reporting foreign adversary control, or a new ownership interest of 5% or greater.

The draft report and order would require “a broad range of holders of such licenses, authorizations, or approvals to attest whether they are owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary, and, if so, to disclose additional information about such foreign adversary control,” according to a fact sheet released with the item.

More specifically, the draft foreign adversary report and order would define “the scope of the licenses, leases, authorizations, permits, grants, and other approvals subject to the Foreign Adversary Control reporting requirements by placing them into three Schedules of licenses (A, B, and C) based on a variety of factors including national security risk of Foreign Adversary Control and reporting burdens” and require “holders of Schedule A Covered Authorizations to attest to the Commission whether they are or are not subject to Foreign Adversary Control, require holders of Schedule B Covered Authorizations that are subject to Foreign Adversary Control to attest to the Commission thereof, and exempt holders of Schedule C Covered Authorizations from filing Foreign Adversary Control attestations,” the fact sheet says.

The draft item would also require “all Covered Authorization holders attesting to Foreign Adversary Control to disclose additional information about such control including all 5% or greater direct or indirect equity and/or voting interests, and controlling interests held in the Regulatee; the identity of the foreign adversary or foreign adversary country or countries that control the Regulatee; and the nature of the Foreign Adversary Control to which the Regulatee is subject,” the fact sheet adds.

The draft item would also adopt “ongoing reporting requirements with various deadlines triggered by a variety of conditions including new instances of Foreign Adversary Control”; establish “a single, consolidated reporting system”; set a filing deadline “for most Regulatees of 60 days after the adoption of a public notice announcing the launch of the consolidated reporting system, and provide an extended period of 120 days for small entities”; and delegate “to the Enforcement Bureau and the Licensing Bureaus and Offices the authority to take enforcement actions for rule violations, including revocations of Covered Authorizations, on a streamlined basis where consistent with applicable law,” the fact sheet says.

The draft foreign ownership report and order in GN docket 25-149 follows a notice of proposed rulemaking adopted last April that proposed codifying various definitions and concepts developed over the past decade during Communications Act section 310(b) reviews of foreign investment in common carrier, aeronautical radio, and broadcast licensees to deal with increasingly complex foreign ownership structures.

In the draft order, the phrase common carrier encompasses “common carrier wireless, aeronautical en route and aeronautical fixed radio station applicants and licensees, and spectrum lessees,” according to a footnote in the draft item, FCC, Public Draft on Review of Foreign Ownership Policies for Broadcast, Common Carrier and Aeronautical Radio Licensees under Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act, as Amended, Report and Order, GN Docket No. 25-149 (Jan. 8, 2026), Footnote 3.

“These policies and practices now warrant clarification or inclusion in the rules,” the FCC said in a fact sheet accompanying the draft item, adding that “[t]hese clarifications will assist petitioners in providing the relevant information in their initial filings, minimize the need for supplemental filings, and promote efficient and shorter processing times of Section 310(b) petitions.”

Specifically, the draft item would, with respect to both broadcast and common carrier licensees, codify “existing policy regarding which entity petitioners should identify as the controlling U.S. Parent” and the FCC’s “deemed voting interest and advance approval policy regarding certain limited partners and LLCs”; clarify requirements “for identification of trusts and trustees in Section 310(b) petitions,” requirements “regarding the contents of remedial Section 310(b) petitions,” and U.S. residency requirements; extend “the remedial procedures to privately held entities”; and specify “the procedures concerning filing amendments to pending Section 310(b) petitions,” according to the fact sheet.

It would also, with respect to broadcast licensees only, direct the Media Bureau “to issue processing guidelines detailing how the Commission would process applications filed by a broadcast licensee during the pendency of a remedial Section 310(b) petition”; and clarify “other foreign ownership considerations related to processing applications for noncommercial educational and low power FM stations,” the fact sheet said.

News: FederalLegislation DataSecurity