§2679e List of certain telecommunications providers

Summary

The Secretary must make and keep a list of telecom and IT contractors the Department should avoid. The Secretary will work with the Director of National Intelligence and other federal agencies they choose. The list had to be made within 30 days after December 27, 2021, and can be updated as needed. Within 30 days after making the list or any update, and then once a year for five years after that first 30‑day deadline, the Secretary must send the list to the appropriate congressional committees. Covered contractor — a provider of telecommunications, telecommunications equipment, or information-technology equipment (hardware, software, or services) that knowingly helped carry out a cyberattack or surveillance against either (1) the United States by or for a government named as a cyber threat actor in the intelligence community’s 2017 or later worldwide threat assessment; or (2) individuals (for example, activists, journalists, or opposition politicians) to suppress dissent on behalf of a country the State Department lists for systematic political repression.