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FCC Cracking Down on Property Owners From Which Pirate Broadcasters Operate

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by K5XS, Dec 18, 2020.

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  1. K6LPM

    K6LPM Ham Member QRZ Page

    Well, I did read all the details and also the act....
    It just never ceases to amaze me how much bureaucracy that US government operates.
    If only only we could operate, function and live with such an improbable Utopian concept and we're able to share in a trait that so simple in theory but rare and oxymoronic ideal of common sense.
    While I would love to see some enforcement actions that resulted in a greater respect and awareness on the air. I do find that like many things the way they administer themselves is crap.
    I find it interesting the way that they make the landlord or manager responsible for their investigations and many constitutional issues, where as a show cause order is leveraged against the property owner to to locate the source, take action to dismantle and then turn over the principal participants while the FCC awaits back at the office, waiting to see what they have managed to troll into the dragnet without regard to any constitutional issue on their own part. Also the law, requires the FCC to fast track past any issuing any notification of wrongful action or showing cause but instead requires them to go straight to notification of forfeiture, essentially blackmailing the property owner to produce an offender and transmitter with the issuance of fines.... A manager under duress is likely to identify anyone that operates a radio in a desperate chance not to come back empty handed and not win favorable consideration against the spector of huge fines. They surely want to appear cooperative...
    Another interesting thing to note is that FCC is mandated to conduct at least one raid or sweep per year and also must report to congress essentially an audit of how they met the previous years quotas.
    I am not a lawyer but seems like some draconian bull -crap....
     
    W9ELO, AK5B, WZ7U and 2 others like this.
  2. K0UO

    K0UO Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Another interesting thing to note is that FCC is mandated to conduct at least one raid or sweep per year and also must report to congress essentially an audit of how they met the previous years quotas.

    That sounds like total/
    Typical bureaucracy and Congressional crap. HI
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
    W9RAC, AK5B, WZ7U and 1 other person like this.
  3. NC5P

    NC5P Ham Member QRZ Page

    The first thing I noticed about this act is they specify: between 535 and 1705 kilohertz, inclusive, or 87.7 and 108 megahertz, inclusive. Nothing about shortwave or even TV. I suspect the half dozen or so billionaires who own all the radio stations probably don't sleep at night worrying about college kids setting up 10 watt transmitters in their dorm rooms and stealing their audience away. I'm sure the law was crafted for them to ease their suffering. Never mind Sirius and all the streaming services that really have their listeners now. People are sick of their fully automated stations running 30 spots per hour. They are as bad as Gas Station TV on the pumps or Restroom TV on top of the urinals.
     
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  4. N0TZU

    N0TZU Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Seems like a very poorly thought out law. Not entirely surprising since today most bills are written by the special interest groups involved, not by the staff of our Congressmen and Senators.
     
    AK5B, WZ7U, KC8UD and 2 others like this.
  5. WQ4G

    WQ4G Ham Member QRZ Page

    First of all I find it interesting that you invoke the Constitution, as if running a radio station - pirate or otherwise - is a Constitutional RIGHT. But, it is not a right - it is a privilege. And, as we all know, privileges can be revoked at any time.

    Secondly, landlords and property owners should have no fear of someone holding a license. These stations are 'pirate stations' because they have no license. And, it is easy enough for a landlord or property owner to determine if the station is licensed or not. For one they could just ask or they could look it up online.

    Also, this problem seems to be somewhat of a regional or locality centered activity. For example, in the State of Florida most of the illegal pirate radio stations pop-up in South Florida. Seems that people living in South Florida have a penchant for pirate broadcast stations. And, not so much in other areas.

    Lastly, IMO these laws should also be extended to RFI issues. It is very frustrating to be continually QRM'ed by an RFI source, located on private property, where the owner will not allow access to the property for the purpose of locating and mitigating the RFI source. If the FCC started using this, or a similar law, to go after those allowing RFI sources to go unabated, the RFI problems that the Ham community faces would begin to go away.

    Just a thought....

    Dan WQ4G
     
    KE8BDQ, WS5GPA, K2NED and 4 others like this.
  6. AH7I

    AH7I Ham Member QRZ Page

    When drafting private citizens as law enforcers through coercion becomes acceptable, what can go wrong?
     
    WZ7U, K9GLS, KQ9J and 3 others like this.
  7. ND6M

    ND6M Ham Member QRZ Page


    breaking news flash................ I just evicted a dead beat tenant for breach of written lease contract,.................................... CDC order be dammed
     
    N5PZJ, KC1DR, K0UO and 2 others like this.
  8. N6IQ

    N6IQ Ham Member QRZ Page

    There were several pirate stations in the late 90s operating just below the bottom of the 40 meter band. Mostly just played music. They used a mailbox for listeners to report reception; I even got a reply from one - MYSTERY RADIO. I guess the current pirates are using the FM band and interfering with broadcast stations which cannot be permitted. The most famous pirate station was RADIO CAROLINE which operated off the coast of England; now it is available on the internet only.
     
  9. N0TZU

    N0TZU Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    In addition to illegal activity, there are other exceptions to the CDC eviction order:

    “Nothing in this Order precludes evictions based on a tenant, lessee, or resident: (1) engaging in criminal activity while on the premises; (2) threatening the health or safety of other residents; (3) damaging or posing an immediate and significant risk of damage to property; (4) violating any applicable building code, health ordinance, or similar regulation relating to health and safety; or (5) violating any other contractual obligation, other than the timely payment of rent or similar housing-related payment (including non-payment or late payment of fees, penalties,
    or interest).”
    See 85 Feg.Reg. at 55294.

    From https://www.nhlp.org/wp-content/uploads/CDC-Eviction-Analysis.pdf
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
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  10. N0TZU

    N0TZU Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    It’s a fine line.

    Property owners can be held partially responsible by a state or city if they knowingly allow their property to be used for criminal activity, commonly illegal drugs. That’s why many won’t take cash payment for rent, just as a first step. I think it’s pretty clear that the public interest is involved in such cases.

    Whether it makes sense to use the same sort of logic for radio pirates is a different question, and it seems a stretch to me.
     
  11. K3XR

    K3XR Ham Member QRZ Page

    There is a huge difference between inadvertently allowing your property to be used for an illegitimate purpose and knowingly permitting it's use for that purpose. From what has been posted it's clear that it covers the latter and not the former.

    The inference that private citizens would somehow become law enforcement officers is more than a stretch. Preventing the illicit use of your property is a civic duty not a citizen law enforcement function.
     
    WQ4G and K7JEM like this.
  12. AH7I

    AH7I Ham Member QRZ Page

    When the FCC sends you the letter telling you of offending activity, you become aware.

    Now you are on the hook.

    That's coercion, not civic duty.
     
    NN0M likes this.
  13. N0TZU

    N0TZU Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    To me the “stretch” part is this:

    In the case of street crime at a property, the threat to persons nearby and the public at large is obvious, dire, and immediate (including to the landlord’s property, or himself or staff), whereas the threat from a pirate broadcaster is none of those things, assuming they aren’t overloading the electric service. Its really an administrative and civil issue in which bringing the government power down on the landlord for the actions of a tenant seems far out of balance.

    After all, the pirate can’t just hide all the transmitter equipment under a sofa cushion or flush it down the toilet when there’s a knock on the door, or be on good behavior and not beat somebody up when a cop walks by. The pirate clearly announces and carries on his activities constantly, using a radio transmission which provides a simple way to record evidence of the activity and also locate the operation at any time.

    It seems a simple matter for the government to shut that down when it wants to and prosecute the pirates, so how could coercing help from the landlord be considered critical? I think it’s more an indictment of the poor state of FCC enforcement capabilities and lack of prosecution resources than anything else.

    In a mostly theoretical sense there might be a danger if, say, a tornado was approaching and their listeners didn’t know because they don’t participate in the emergency broadcast system. But then most of the population people aren’t listening to radio anyway, so the potential harm is really minuscule as a practical matter.
     
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  14. W1YW

    W1YW Ham Member QRZ Page


    Many commercial leases have clauses for eviction if the landlord is made aware of illegal activity. IOW teant must abide by all local and federa laws. I believe the intent was to prevent meth factories and marihuana 'grow' farms, etc.

    The FCC orders may actually help the landlord, as it gives them a sound basis for eviction in the event of radio piracy. It would be hard to believe that landlords choose to look the other way.

    OTOH, is the issue the property--as land and building--or property as in 'station'? If you have a box of Cuban cigars, should the landlord be liable if you aren't evicted for illegal possession of same?

    73
    Chip W1YW
     
    NN0M and WQ4G like this.
  15. K3XR

    K3XR Ham Member QRZ Page

    You may want to take that up on a cigar forum. Obviously you can imagine all sorts of scenarios with accompanied opinions.
     
    W1YW likes this.

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