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FCC Formalizes Massive Fines For Selling, Using Cell-Phone Jammers (networkworld.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the illegal-hardware dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Network World: Two years ago the FCC announced its intention to fine a Chinese electronics maker $34.9 million and a Florida man $48,000 for respectively selling and using illegal cell-phone jammers. Today the agency has issued press releases telling us that those fines have finally been made official, without either of the offending parties having bothered to mount a formal defense of their actions. From the press release announcing the fine against CTS. Technology: "[...] The company's website falsely claimed that some jammers had been approved by the FCC, and advertised that the company could ship signal jammers to consumers in the United States." The company did not respond to the FCC's allegations, although the agency does report that changes were made to its website that appear to be aimed at complying with U.S. law. Next up is Florida man, Jason R. Humphreys, who is alleged to have used a jammer on his commute: "Mr. Humphreys' illegal operation of the jammer continued for up to two years, caused interference to cellular service along Interstate 4, and disrupted police communications." Last Fall, a Chicagoan was arrested for using a cell-phone jammer to make his subway commute more tolerable.

2 of 135 comments (clear)

  1. Yes, good job FCC!!! by gavron · · Score: 1, Informative

    These people didn't argue so the fine becomes formal. That's how the process works,
    but it neither makes the fine appropriate nor does it set followable precedent.

    You can rest easy that "CTS" (the Chinese firm -- not its real name) will continue to sell
    the jammers under many many other names and the amount they will pay the FCC will
    be somewhere around $0.

    You can rest easy that just like prisons want to use cellphone jammers https://gcn.com/articles/2013/...
    so too do beat cops who stop a motorist on the road. That way they can prevent that
    "call to the lawyer" that might help preserve the rights of the individual.

    When law-enforcement plays with these toys, that means they too are interfering with
    legitimate signals and communication. That takes all the hot air out of the FCC's
    "think of the [adult] children [communicating]!" message.

    Nobody will pay a fine.
    Cellphone jammers will become more ubiquitous... like drones [UASs] only not so popular.
    But hey, headlines.

    Ehud
    Tucson AZ

    1. Re:Yes, good job FCC!!! by mysidia · · Score: 3, Informative

      When law-enforcement plays with these toys, that means they too are interfering with legitimate signals and communication.

      Law enforcement officers are Not exempt from the FCC regulations, regarding usage and respect of spectrum allocations. For example, their radios are not allowed to transmit outside their assigned or frequencies licensed for that purpose, with a radio that is approved for the service it is operating in.
      Cops are prohibited from transmitting a jamming signal, just like you are, even if they believe that they might have some legitimate cause to pursue that course, they could still be subject personally to FCC fines, penalties, or imprisonment with a felony charge, even if their local chief of police asked them to do it.