Senate Passage of Secure Equipment Act Hailed

FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington and telecom-focused lawmakers hailed Senate passage of the Secure Equipment Act (HR-3919). The Senate approved the legislation by unanimous consent Thursday, sending it to President Joe Biden. The House passed it earlier in October (see 2110200066). HR-3919 and Senate companion S-1790 would ban the FCC from issuing new equipment licenses to companies the commission decides are a national security risk. Commissioners approved an NPRM 4-0 in June proposing a similar ban (see 2106090063). The bill “will help to ensure that insecure gear from companies like Huawei and ZTE can no longer be inserted into America’s communications networks,” Carr said. “We have already determined that this gear poses an unacceptable risk to our national security, so closing what I have called the ‘Huawei loophole’ is an appropriate action for us to take.” HR-3919 “does not complete the work of protecting our digital sovereignty,” Simington said. “Inadvertent flaws in wireless edge devices are as much a threat as intentionally created backdoors. The FCC must continue to engage with industry and other parts of government to identify and eliminate weaknesses that can be exploited by our adversaries.” Equipment made by “Huawei and ZTE, companies linked to the Chinese government, increases the vulnerabilities of our telecommunication systems,” said lead sponsor Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. The measure “forcefully signals to the Chinese Communist Party that America is committed to protecting the privacy and security of our citizens,” said lead GOP co-sponsor House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, La. S-1790 lead sponsors Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., also praised passage.