President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order directing DOJ to establish rules blocking large-scale transfers of Americans’ personal data to entities in hostile nations.

Proposed revisions to Section 214 international authorization rules seem likely to result in increased scrutiny of foreign ownership by Team Telecom, said Jonathan Gafni, a foreign investment lawyer at Linklaters, during a Wednesday American Bar Association event. Team Telecom refers to the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector. “We expect to see more Team Telecom reviews,” Gafni said. The FCC proposed the changes in an NPRM last year (see 2304200039) that was met with industry concern (see 2310030070). While the "threshold of foreign ownership for carrier licensees and a couple of other types of licensees has traditionally been 25%," the FCC is "considering lowering that threshold to be more in line with" Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. "thresholds for looking at foreign investors," he said. "But another thing is that the FCC has actually asked that parties give a one-time disclosure of all their foreign ownership -- that carrier licensees provide a one-time disclosure -- because they hadn't looked at them for years. And so they have no idea how somebody who received a license 10 years ago may or may not have foreign ownership today, and whether that should be a concern.” Gavni expects "to see more Team Telecom reviews as these disclosures" are filed with the FCC, he said. In cases where the foreign ownership exceeds the new threshold, the agency could then make "referrals to the Team Telecom agencies for these national security and law enforcement reviews,” he said.

The 120-day initial national security review for Element8's acquisition of AtLink Services began Tuesday, the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector, known as Team Telecom, said in a letter to the FCC posted Wednesday in docket 23-268. Team Telecom said it will notify the FCC if an extension or additional 90-day review is necessary. Element8, a Texas-based ISP, announced the acquisition of AtLink, an Oklahoma City-based ISP, in March for "an undisclosed sum." Element8 received a $200 million investment for the purchase from Digital Alpha, a strategic investment firm with foreign ownership.

The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector has reviewed T-Mobile’s proposed buy of Ka’ena, best known for Mint Mobile, a low-cost prepaid wireless brand, and has no objections, said a letter posted Tuesday in docket 23-171. T-Mobile announced the proposed buy in March (see 2303150032). The committee was previously known as Team Telecom.

Industry groups and telecom investors raised concerns about FCC overreach in comments on an NPRM asking about changes to rules for Section 214 international authorizations, approved by commissioners 4-0 in April (see 2304200039). The FCC sought comment on rules requiring carriers to renew these authorizations every 10 years and on other potential changes to the authorization process. But Team Telecom urged the FCC to strengthen its rules.

The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector submitted proposed conditions for Eutelsat's proposed OneWeb acquisition (see 2207250041). The proposed conditions cover such issues as compliance with all court orders for authorized electronic surveillance and preventing unauthorized access to U.S. records and domestic communications, per an NTIA filing Wednesday in docket 22-404.

With the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector having received answers to questions it had about Eutelsat's proposed takeover of OneWeb, the Committee resumed its review of the deal, it told the FCC Space Bureau Monday. It said the 120-day review period is scheduled to end Aug. 14. Eutelsat/OneWeb was announced in July (see 2207250041).

The FCC should dismiss a foreign ownership petition from America-CV Station Group without prejudice (see 2104270082) after an appeals court threw out the company’s bankruptcy reorganization, said the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector in a letter to the FCC posted in docket 22-317 Thursday. The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the company’s bankruptcy plans after an emergency motion stripped three of the company’s shareholders of equity and allocated full ownership to the fourth, said an opinion earlier this month. “When a modification to a Chapter 11 reorganization plan materially and adversely affects the treatment of a class of claim or interest holders, those claim or interest holders are entitled to a new disclosure statement and another opportunity to vote,” said the ruling. When the FCC asked about the ruling, ACV “was unable to provide a complete and accurate answer as to what the post-decision ownership structure will look like,” said the letter. “The Committee is unable to perform a risk analysis when the ownership structure of the application under review remains significantly in flux.”

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a 180-day temporary denial order Dec. 13 against three people and two companies for illegally sending controlled exports to Russia as part of a Moscow-led sanctions evasion scheme. Along with the denial order, DOJ indicted the three individuals, along with others, on charges related to the illegal exports, including money laundering, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiring to defraud the U.S.

The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, known as Team Telecom, is reviewing a foreign ownership request involving a number of TV and radio stations in Puerto Rico, said a DOJ letter in docket 23-2. The letter concerns a petition for declaratory ruling from Searchlight II HMT (see 2301040065) seeking permission for its parent company, Hemisphere Media Group, to be up to 100% foreign owned. That request is connected with pending broadcast station transactions at the FCC involving Searchlight subsidiary Televicentro of Puerto Rico and Univision. The deal would lead to the stations being controlled by “certain Searchlight investment fund entities organized in the Cayman Islands that are ultimately controlled by foreign individuals.” The FCC will be notified when responses to Team Telecom’s initial request for information are complete and the 120-day initial review period can begin, the letter said.