FCC gets new security council—but Chair can quietly block members

What it does

This bill directs the FCC to establish (or designate an existing) advisory council within 90 days to recommend ways to improve security, reliability, and interoperability of U.S. communications networks. The council will include representatives from telecom companies, public interest groups, and government agencies, but the FCC Chair can exclude any entity deemed "not trusted"—defined as foreign-controlled or a national security threat. The council must report every two years, with reports posted publicly on the FCC website.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is establishing a formal advisory council to the FCC on network security and interoperability. It is not a regulatory mandate or appropriation, but rather a governance structure for expert input. The mechanism is straightforward, though the Chair's discretionary exclusion power introduces a governance tension.

What the text implies

• The FCC Chair's unilateral authority to exclude entities as 'not trusted' lacks defined procedural safeguards, appeal mechanisms, or transparency requirements for the exclusion decision itself—only the determination criteria are specified. This may allow political or strategic exclusion of competitors or critics without public justification.
• The council's exemption from the standard 2-year termination rule for federal advisory committees (5 U.S.C. § 1013(2)) means it can persist indefinitely without periodic reauthorization, reducing congressional oversight of its composition and recommendations.

The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.

Who stands to gain

telecommunications companies (especially those deemed 'trusted' by FCC Chair); communications infrastructure vendors and equipment manufacturers