Update On ICTS Rules: Recent Actions And Path Ahead In 2025

The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has been very active so far this year with respect to its Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) authorities, issuing an advance notice of proposed rule on drones and a final rule on so-called "connected vehicles." Although those actions were taken in the final days of the Biden administration, early signs suggest the Trump administration is likely to keep those rulemakings in place and target other industries for ICTS-based prohibitions or restrictions. Notably, the authorities underlying the ICTS rules were initially established during the first Trump administration.

The ICTS rules give BIS and the newly created Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS), the power to prohibit or impose restrictions on a broad range of ICTS transactions involving certain "foreign adversaries" where there is a threat to U.S. national security. The rules can