A Democratic lawmaker is raising national security and consumer protection concerns about Trump Mobile, saying the carrier appears to lack required federal authorization for the international services it advertises. Senator Hassan, the top Democrat on the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, laid out the allegations in a letter to Trump Mobile CEO Patrick O'Brien. The letter also cited a report that hackers stole personal data belonging to 3,615 customers, along with the company's earlier confirmation that a vendor exposed customer data online.
According to the letter, a search of the FCC's International Communications Filing System indicates Trump Mobile does not hold authorization under Section 214 of the Communications Act of 1934 for services reaching more than 230 countries and territories. Hassan said that process requires carriers to disclose foreign ownership so the FCC can weigh national security risks, and that it applies to both network operators and Mobile Virtual Network Operators such as Trump Mobile, which resells other carriers' service. She said the apparent gap leaves unclear who provides or resells the advertised international services and under what authority.
Hassan also pointed to Trump Mobile's relationship with Liberty Mobile Wireless, a Florida-based MVNO that company officials told The Verge in February serves as the "enabler" and "backbone" of Trump Mobile and handles much of its technical, legal and financial operations. Those statements indicated the two businesses are run by the same people, and Hassan asked whether Trump Mobile owns, operates or controls Liberty Mobile. She further alleged that Trump Mobile appears to lack a strong customer authentication process and offers streamlined activation that could make it easier for scammers to obtain US numbers.
On robocalls, Hassan said Trump Mobile does not appear to have submitted a required plan for fighting them, and that a filing by Liberty Mobile was incomplete. She said neither company appears to have described its know-your-customer processes in annual Robocall Mitigation Database filings, that Liberty Mobile's most recent filing lacks that information, and that searches for Trump Mobile and T1 Mobile LLC, its operational business name, returned no filings. Hassan noted that noncompliance can bring fines, removal from the database and orders requiring other phone companies to block a carrier's traffic, and she quoted a February FCC enforcement advisory stressing that MVNO compliance is especially important.
Hassan also referenced a ransomware group's claim that when it notified Trump Mobile of the breach, the company replied that it had no team to handle the matter. She cited a 2012 FCC ruling that carriers failing to obtain Section 214 authority may endanger public interest considerations involving national security, law enforcement, foreign policy and trade policy, and the 2021 revocation of China Telecom Americas' authorization over concerns a foreign-government-controlled carrier could be used for espionage. Hassan's letter also noted that Trump Mobile emerged last year promising a phone made entirely in the US, abandoned that claim, shipped preorders nearly a year late, raised the price from $499 to $749, and is reportedly a near exact match for the HTC U24 Pro, launched in 2024 and manufactured in China.
Trump Mobile holds a trademark and name licensing deal with the Trump family. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has proposed stricter know-your-customer rules, though the letter's concerns arrive as Carr has backed Trump's claim of power over historically independent agencies and recently refused calls to act on a complaint that Trump commercials violate laws against using taxpayer funds for propaganda. Trump Mobile, Liberty Mobile and the FCC were contacted for comment.
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