The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: Adam Chan on the FCC’s Growing Role in National Security
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Sep 10, 2025 Adam Chan, the first National Security Counsel at the FCC, shares insights into the agency's critical and evolving role in U.S. national security. He discusses the rise of foreign companies like Huawei as threats and the FCC's new internal council for improved coordination. Chan highlights the importance of regulating testing labs, especially those in adversarial nations, and the proposed reshoring of testing capabilities. Furthermore, he reveals upcoming initiatives focusing on technology like drones and the security of submarine cables.
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FCC's Original National Security Mandate
- The FCC's founding mandate included national defense alongside expanding communications access.
- Modern technologies and great-power competition have returned national security to the FCC's core role.
Council's Three Security Priorities
- The Council on National Security coordinates FCC bureaus to pursue three national-security goals.
- Its aims are reduce supply-chain dependency, limit cyber espionage vulnerabilities, and win technology competition.
Enforcement Guides New Rulemaking
- The Council integrates enforcement investigations with regulatory rulemaking to close loopholes.
- Enforcement probes into entities on the covered list aim to end 'end runs' around FCC rules and inform new regulations.