Congress orders mobile security audit—but keeps findings partly secret
H.R. 1709 — Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act · Filed by Greg Landsman (D-OH) · 4 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 27, 2025 · Passed chamber
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill requires the federal government to study and report on cybersecurity vulnerabilities in mobile networks and devices within one year. The report will assess how well mobile service providers have addressed known security flaws, examine encryption practices, discuss barriers to stronger security, and analyze surveillance technologies like cell-site simulators. The study will inform Congress and the public about mobile network security risks but does not mandate any changes to industry practices.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to mandate a government study and report on mobile network security vulnerabilities and industry practices. It is a transparency and information-gathering measure, not a regulatory mandate or enforcement action.
What the text implies
- The report's findings may become the factual basis for future regulatory or legislative action targeting specific vendors or practices, creating indirect pressure on industry without explicit mandate in this bill.
- Exclusion of 5G protocols from the report scope may reflect current legislative focus on legacy networks, but leaves a significant security domain unexamined and potentially unaddressed.
- The requirement to consult with 'international stakeholders' and coordinate with the State Department signals potential alignment with foreign policy or trade negotiations around telecom security standards.
- Redaction of 'potentially exploitable unclassified information' from the public report creates an asymmetry: Congress and committees see the full picture, but the public and industry see a sanitized version, limiting democratic accountability.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates transparency and accountability by requiring a comprehensive, expert-driven assessment of mobile network vulnerabilities and industry response. Citizens gain visibility into security gaps and surveillance risks affecting their devices and data, with no direct restrictions on their rights or remedies. The study may inform future protective legislation.
Who stands to gain
- Cybersecurity consulting and research firms
- Network security software and hardware vendors
- Standards organizations (3GPP, IETF) providing expertise
- Academic and independent research institutions contracted for analysis
Named in the bill
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information (NTIA), Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Mobile service providers, Mobile device manufacturers, Intelligence Community
Where it stands
4 cosponsors: 4 Republicans.
- Feb 27, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 27, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
- Mar 4, 2025 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Mar 4, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote”
- Jul 14, 2025 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 360 - 10…”
- Jul 14, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Latta moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $6,870,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 31 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Greg Landsman, the sponsor, reported $1,006,728 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Ncta - the Internet & Television Association — $6,870,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (7,133 characters) on Jul 25, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Congress orders mobile security audit—but keeps findings partly secret” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr1709 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.