On April 4, the White House released an Executive Order
establishing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign
Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services
Sector (the “Committee”) to assess foreign
ownership and national security issues in the telecommunications
sector. The Committee will be led by the Attorney General and
comprised of the Secretaries of the Department of Defense and the
Department of Homeland Security and other executive agency heads,
or assistants to the President, as determined by the
President. Advisors to the Committee include the heads of
several Executive Branch agencies.
The Executive Order formalizes the existing “Team
Telecom” review process pursuant to which Team Telecom (an
interagency group of several Executive Branch agencies, including
the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the
Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
United States Trade Representative) reviews