In late December 2025, the FCC updated its “Covered List” to add foreign-produced unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, and their critical components after an Executive Branch interagency body determined that they pose “unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.” Subsequently,…

On January 21, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau released a Public Notice providing new guidance on how it will evaluate whether broadcast television stations have triggered an obligation to provide “equal opportunities” to political candidates under Section 315 of the Communications Act.  

The FCC’s equal opportunities rule generally says that if a station gives…

On January 9, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a circuit split over the FCC’s authority to impose monetary forfeiture penalties through its administrative process.  The outcome could have significant implications for the FCC’s ability to pursue civil penalties in its enforcement cases.  For more information on the issues at stake, including background…

            On January 6, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (the “Bureau”) announced the application window for a new Lead Administrator for the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark Program (the “Program”).  The window will be open from January 7, 2026, through January 28, 2026.  The previous Lead Administrator, UL LLC (“UL…

In 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines to four major telecommunications carriers—Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile—for allegedly failing to protect the geolocation data of their subscribers, which the FCC claimed violated its Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”) rules. To challenge the action, all four carriers had to first pay the fines, which they…

On December 19, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) signed the Responsible AI Safety & Education (“RAISE”) Act into law, making New York the second state in the nation to codify public safety disclosure and reporting requirements for developers of frontier AI models.  Prior to signing, Governor Hochul secured several commitments from the legislature to…

With innovation comes regulatory scrutiny. On December 9, 2025, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) released its 2026 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “2026 Report”), which includes a new section dedicated to generative artificial intelligence (“GenAI”). The 2026 Report is the latest iteration of FINRA’s yearly summary of insights from its regulatory oversight activities,…