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class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"36.258333333333\">\n<p> The outgoing chair weighs in on how the FCC has addressed newer technologies, efforts to respond to Chinese intrusions into U.S. telecom networks, and regulating AI in political ads. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/83029\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" 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https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/exit-interview-fccs-jessica-rosenworcel-discusses-her-legacy-on-cybersecurity-ai-and-regulation-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/exit-interview-fccs-jessica-rosenworcel-discusses-her-legacy-on-cybersecurity-ai-and-regulation-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/exit-interview-fccs-jessica-rosenworcel-discusses-her-legacy-on-cybersecurity-ai-and-regulation-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel attends the Paley International Council Summit at Paley Museum on Nov. 8, 2022 in New York City. Rosenworcel spoke with CyberScoop about her tenure as FCC Chair, which will end Jan. 20, 2025. (Photo by Steven Ferdman\/Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"131.18069306931\"><body readability=\"263.31226545526\"><\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 20, Jessica Rosenworcel will leave the Federal Communications Commission, capping off a 12-year tenure that saw her rise from commissioner to chairwoman in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Under her leadership, the agency has taken an aggressive approach to regulating cybersecurity, data privacy and emergent artificial intelligence use in the communications sector.<\/p>\n<p>Over the past four years, the FCC has issued record fines to telecoms and other entities for<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/marriott-starwood-breach-ftc-settlement-data-security\/\"> data breaches<\/a> caused by cybersecurity lapses,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.jonesday.com\/en\/insights\/2014\/10\/fcc-issues-massive-%2410-million-fine-in-its-first-ever-data-security-enforcement-action\"> privacy violations<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-fines-wireless-carriers-200-million\/\"> selling customer data<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/telecom-behind-ai-powered-biden-robocall-agrees-to-1-million-fcc-fine\/\"> using AI to deceive voters<\/a> over phone lines. The agency has also proposed a raft of new cybersecurity regulations on telecoms and broadcasters, in many cases by reinterpreting decades-old laws to cover newer and emerging technologies and infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>In a wide-ranging interview with CyberScoop, Rosenworcel discussed how the FCC has evolved to address the challenges posed by newer technologies, ongoing efforts to investigate and respond to Chinese intrusions into U.S. telecommunications networks, regulating AI in political ads and other topics.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em>This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>CyberScoop: <\/strong>Thank you for making time to speak with us today, chairwoman. Can you start by talking about the role that cybersecurity and privacy have played in your tenure at FCC? When you look back at when you first got to the agency to today, how has the mission changed or evolved to meet these challenges?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>I think it\u2019s become clear that communications technologies are essential for national and economic security. By some counts, they amount to one-sixth of the economy and I think it\u2019s the most exciting part. Under my leadership, we made sure that those connections need to be secure connections and put national security front and center.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many things that we have done over the last several years to demonstrate that. For the first time ever, we revoked the service authorization for Chinese-affiliated telecom companies because we found their connections in this country were insecure. We also set up a big program to take out and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment in our nation\u2019s communications carriers. And in legislation that was just passed, the [National Defense Authorization Act],<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/senators-witnesses-3b-for-rip-and-replace-a-good-start-to-preventing-salt-typhoon-style-breaches\/\"> we got an additional $3 billion<\/a> to help us finish that job.<\/p>\n<p>We also made sure that our process for reviewing equipment that uses radio frequency doesn\u2019t give blessing to insecure devices, through the work we\u2019ve done on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/house-bill\/3919\"> Secure Equipment Act<\/a>. On top of that, we\u2019ve enforced against wireless carriers who are making a business of selling our geolocation data from our phones. Got them to stop that. And we updated our data-breach policies at the FCC, which hadn\u2019t been updated in 16 years, which is a lifetime in the digital age. We also did some work to try to stop sim-swapping fraud.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A lot of those initiatives were done because we helped create the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/privacy-and-data-protection-task-force\"> Privacy and Data Protection Task Force<\/a>, which brought together all kinds of staff from across the agency to try to think cooperatively about these issues and what matters to the security of our networks and the communications we bring into our homes and businesses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS: <\/strong>A theme running through much of your work in these areas has been operating with laws that were designed decades ago to apply to newer technologies that have come to the fore.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>I think you have a point. What we tend to do is we look at the law and say, what values are in the law? And the very first sentence of the<a href=\"https:\/\/bja.ojp.gov\/program\/it\/privacy-civil-liberties\/authorities\/statutes\/1288\"> Communications Act<\/a> talks about network security. And for that reason, we have to take a look at what\u2019s happening in the world around us and modernize our approaches.<\/p>\n<p>For example, we\u2019re seeing extraordinary growth in the <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/tag\/internet-of-things\/\">Internet of Things<\/a>. We\u2019ve got billions of devices that are out there and many more coming our way that are going to be connected to the internet. We have to make sure all those connections are secure.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why, for the first time ever, we developed<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-cyber-trust-mark\/\"> the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark<\/a>, which is coming soon to everything from baby monitors to fitness trackers, to help us all make good decisions about what connections we bring into our lives and home. That\u2019s an example of us thinking in a modern way about the language in these laws.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS:<\/strong> On the<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/salt-typhoon-telecom-cybersecurity-gaps-white-house-response\/\"> Salt Typhoon intrusions<\/a>, the FCC has proposed new rules for telecommunications providers. Some members of Congress have proposed their own version of legislation. When you look at these intrusions, what do you see as the root problems that need to be fixed to prevent these kind of breaches in the future? And to what extent does the FCC have the authority to act on those problems versus needing new legislation from Congress?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>There\u2019s a few different pieces in there. Let\u2019s start by acknowledging that our nation\u2019s communications is not a single network. It\u2019s a patchwork of networks from private companies. Some portions of it are bright new and gleaming with IP technology, and others are decidedly analogue and feature switches that should have been long ago decommissioned.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>So while our national intelligence experts are spending a lot of time trying to understand the scope and extent of the incursions from Salt Typhoon, I decided that the FCC should get started building a framework for the future. In other words, even while they\u2019re going through their efforts to fully appreciate what happened, I think we actually have to start right now thinking about how we\u2019re going to stop this in the days ahead.<\/p>\n<p>When I look at the laws before us, the most relevant law I have is [the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/calea\">Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act<\/a>] \u2014 which is from 1994 by the way. Not especially current. And in 1994, as we saw the explosion of different kinds of equipment being added to our communications network, Congress passed this law to direct communications companies to make sure the equipment they put in their network was capable of lawful surveillance. If they got a lawful request for surveillance, that equipment would be capable of working with law enforcement authority to make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>So I\u2019m standing back now and looking at this tool and saying, can we interpret that more broadly and in a more modern way, to say that you affirmatively have a duty to secure your network? And if we do that, can we also have cybersecurity risk management plans that are built off the kind of work that the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have already developed?<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is [for] this network, that has a patchwork of different equipment and companies, we\u2019ve got to develop something like minimum cybersecurity standards. That\u2019s how we make sure communications going forward are more secure and more reliable; every one of us needs that in our day-to-day life. I don\u2019t think we should wait for the intelligence communities to complete their understanding of Salt Typhoon. I think the FCC should get started immediately, which is why I put forward<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-cybersecurity-rules-wiretapping-law-salt-typhoon\/\"> a proposal<\/a> to do that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS: <\/strong>The Cyber Safety Review Board is investigating the intrusions. What are, in your view, the most pertinent questions that a review like that should answer? What are the things you\u2019d like to see addressed or clarified?<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>I think it\u2019s very simple: What happened that let these malicious foreign actors to get into our network? What are we doing to get them out? And what are we doing to prevent this in the future?<\/p>\n<p>That third piece is something where I think the FCC has the ability to take this law from 1994 and interpret it in a more modern way. I\u2019m going to use every tool we have before us right now, and I\u2019ll also welcome any new tools Congress wants to provide.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS:<\/strong> Do you expect the affected telecoms to cooperate in that investigation? And how receptive have they been to requests from the FCC in its own inquiries?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel:<\/strong> I just don\u2019t feel like I have an answer for you on that. I want to be careful on that. Let me just acknowledge that there\u2019s a public record of the highest levels of the companies working with government authorities and our national intelligence experts on this issue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS:<\/strong> The FCC under your leadership has been praised in some quarters for taking aggressive actions around issues like cybersecurity, privacy and AI, as well as your willingness to reinterpret older communications laws in ways that can address these newer technologies. In other quarters there\u2019s been criticism \u2014 including from Republican-appointed members of the FCC \u2014 that the agency is overstepping its statutory and regulatory authorities. Do you expect the FCC to pull back from that approach under a Republican administration?<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel:<\/strong> I can\u2019t speak to what my successor might do, but I can tell you that national security and network security go hand in hand. These communication networks are fundamental to everything we do in modern life, and it\u2019s incumbent upon us to make sure every one of those connections is secure. You can\u2019t just pass the buck and say it\u2019s someone else\u2019s job. You\u2019ve got to look at what\u2019s before you and make choices that reflect the world we live in today. And that\u2019s why I believe we need to put national security front and center, that\u2019s why we\u2019ve done that on my watch at the FCC, and there\u2019s all kinds of other opportunities where this has arisen.<\/p>\n<p>You mentioned AI. I think one of the more stunning things that happened on my watch was at the start of [2024], voters in New Hampshire<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/biden-new-hampshire-robo-call-deepfake\/\"> awoke to President Biden calling them<\/a> on their phones and providing them with this jumble of disinformation about how they didn\u2019t need to vote in the primary.<\/p>\n<p>It was the first big episode of AI voice-cloning reaching the public and interfering with an election. We certainly had talked about it before; I\u2019d seen AI experts explain how voice-cloning could be used over the communications network. But there it was, suddenly thousands of people woke up and got that call.<\/p>\n<p>What we did at the FCC is we kicked into high gear. Very quickly we looked at the laws we have on the books, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, and worked with colleagues in a bipartisan fashion to<a href=\"https:\/\/statescoop.com\/fcc-bans-ai-generated-voices-robocalls\/\"> very quickly conclude<\/a> that AI voice-cloning sent over [a] communications network violated the [act] as it was artificial and prerecorded voice, for which there was no permission to send.<\/p>\n<p>We actually issued<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-fine-joe-biden-deepfake-new-hampshire-robocall-steve-kramer\/\"> a $6 million dollar fine<\/a> to the individual behind that, and we worked with the Republican Attorney General of New Hampshire to make sure they had the information they<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/ai-robocall-steve-kramer-criminal-charges\/\"> needed for criminal prosecution<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It was the canary in the coal mine, the earliest episode of AI and voice-cloning and the risk that could represent to our elections and national security. I\u2019m proud this agency moved fast and swiftly and set the kind of precedent that is important, which is if you use this junk and send it over the line,<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/fcc-wants-major-telecoms-to-step-up-rules-around-ai-generated-robocalls\/\"> we\u2019re going to come find you<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS: <\/strong>There were a number of players and entities involved, including Lingo Telecom and Life Corporation. What did that experience teach you about the ecosystem in place for these kinds of calls?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>That when you have an ugly incident like this, it\u2019s imperative that you act fast, and we did that in this case. This was the biggest use of AI voice-cloning that we saw during this election cycle, and the agency stepped up very fast to indicate that it violated the law and there would be consequences. I think that we\u2019re going to continue to have to look at the statutes that may not be totally recent to identify what values and principles are in them to make sure our networks are more reliable and secure. Everything from voice-cloning and AI to Salt Typhoon is putting pressure on the agency to think about these statutes in a modern rule.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS: <\/strong>You\u2019ve talked with members of Congress about how the FCC\u2019s disclosure rules around AI-generated political ads<a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/morelle-fcc-ai-political-ad-disclosure-election-campaign-regulation\/\"> could serve as a norm-changing experience<\/a> for what people should expect from their political ads. Could you expand on those thoughts?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>As we enter this new era with the possibilities of artificial intelligence \u2014 it can cause problems, it can also help us solve problems \u2014 I\u2019m ultimately an optimist. But I do think that if you\u2019re a consumer, a viewer or a listener and you are interacting with AI-generated stuff, you deserve to know. If that\u2019s a synthetic voice or actor that you\u2019re interacting with, you deserve to know.<\/p>\n<p>I think we need to change our legal and cultural norms to reflect that for us to make positive use of artificial intelligence going forward.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>CS: <\/strong>That push has spurred some pushback over the past year from the Federal Election Commission chair, who argued his agency had ultimate jurisdiction over the regulation of political ads. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr also opposed the rules<a href=\"https:\/\/docs.fcc.gov\/public\/attachments\/FCC-24-74A3.pdf\">, likening them<\/a> to an attack on political speech. How do you respond to those claims and what do you see as the consequences of the FCC pulling back on this issue?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>To be clear, since the 1930s the FCC has been collecting information on political ads on broadcast and radio, so there was nothing especially new here associated with that. What is new is that artificial intelligence is going to show up in so many aspects of our lives. I think as citizens, we are entitled to know when it is being used. I think that\u2019s pretty fundamental. You can get lost in arguments about jurisdiction and the details of the code of federal regulations, but what is really clear is if you\u2019re interacting with something that\u2019s synthetic, we need legal and social norms that tell you that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS:<\/strong> Robocalling remains a huge problem in America today despite efforts by agencies like the FCC and other entities to improve tracking and verification protocols. It\u2019s caused a lot of frustration for consumers. How do we improve that?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel: <\/strong>We can\u2019t let this destroy trust in our networks. I\u2019ve said repeatedly this is one of those areas where we really, truly need more authority from Congress. There was a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crowell.com\/en\/insights\/client-alerts\/supreme-court-limits-the-tcpa-s-definition-of-autodialer#:~:text=The%20Supreme%20Court's%20Decision&text=Based%20on%20this%20rule%2C%20the,random%20or%20sequential%20number%20generator.\"> Supreme Court decision in 2021<\/a> that radically narrowed our ability to go after bad actors with robocalls by defining autocaller in a way that froze the definition of the technology in 1991. We need an update to that, so we have more expansive authorities. I\u2019d also like the FCC ultimately to have the authority to take those bad actors to court so when we issue fines, we can follow through and collect, and right now we don\u2019t have that authority through the Communications Act. I think we\u2019re going to need some changes to our laws to really get to the root of this problem, and I hope my successor will continue to press for that.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CS: <\/strong>Do you know what you want to do after your tenure ends in January?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rosenworcel:<\/strong> I know it\u2019s the most predictable Washington answer of all time, but I want to spend more time with my family. I think public service is a 24\/7 job and I want to make sure I can spend more time with my family at home, and my dog, too.<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.469964664311\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"13\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/exit-interview-fccs-jessica-rosenworcel-discusses-her-legacy-on-cybersecurity-ai-and-regulation-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Derek B. Johnson\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Derek B. Johnson<\/h4>\n<p> Derek B. Johnson is a reporter at CyberScoop, where his beat includes cybersecurity, elections and the federal government. 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{"id":6794,"date":"2025-01-03T12:54:05","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=83029"},"modified":"2025-01-03T12:54:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:54:05","slug":"exit-interview-fccs-jessica-rosenworcel-discusses-her-legacy-on-cybersecurity-ai-and-regulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/03\/exit-interview-fccs-jessica-rosenworcel-discusses-her-legacy-on-cybersecurity-ai-and-regulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Exit interview: FCC\u2019s Jessica Rosenworcel discusses her legacy on cybersecurity, AI and regulation"},"content":{"rendered":"