FCC tightens rules on foreign firms building undersea cables, citing security

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules to make it more difficult for foreign firms to apply for licensing to build out submarine cables, citing the need to protect the continued construction of critical undersea cables that underpin the internet and transcontinental communications.

The rules would require the FCC to presumptively deny “certain foreign adversary-controlled license applicants” from obtaining licenses needed to operate in U.S.-controlled waters. It would also restrict undersea capacity leasing agreements, ban the use of unspecified covered equipment and establish a range of physical and cybersecurity requirements on those same firms.

The FCC said that as the U.S. seeks to become “the unrivaled world leader in critical and emerging technologies and secure AI dominance,” the cables responsible for powering that data explosion must be protected from acts of foreign sabotage.

Read more at CyberScoop