S. 259 — Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act

This section directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to publish on its website, not later than 120 days after enactment, a list of entities holding FCC licenses issued through spectrum auctions (under 47 U.S.C. 309(j)) or under the Cable Landing Licensing Act (47 U.S.C. 34 et seq., with presidential functions delegated to the FCC by Executive Order 10530) where a covered entity—defined as the government of a covered country (i.e., those listed in 10 U.S.C. 4872(f)(2)), an entity organized under its laws, or such an entity's subsidiary—holds a reportable equity or voting interest under FCC ownership rules or is determined by an appropriate national security agency (as defined in 47 U.S.C. 1608) to exert control. The section further requires the FCC (1) not later than 18 months after enactment, to issue rules to identify entities holding any other FCC authorization, license, or grant of authority with a covered entity's reportable equity or voting interest; (2) not later than one year after issuing those rules, to add such entities to the list; and (3) to update the list at least annually. Collections of information to implement this section are exempt from the Paperwork Reduction Act.