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Pirate Radio Stations BEWARE!

T

theradioman

Federal law presently allows the Federal Communications Commission to impose a maximum fine of $19,246 per day for each violation or each day up to a statutory maximum of $144,344. This new proposal would boost that to as much $100,000 per day, per violation with a maximum fine allowed by law of $2 Million Dollars.

The new bill drafted would also give the Enforcement Bureau the authority to destroy any equipment seized from alleged pirates within 90 days from the date that it was taken away from an unlicensed broadcaster. Some lawmakers are also looking at adding to the proposal to give the FCC more leeway in pursuing pirate fines in court, something it must currently rely on the Justice Department to do. This legislation comes in response to the growing number of pirate radio broadcasters in the region that are harming consumers and public safety.

During the past year the FCC has stepped up its effort to shut pirate radio operations down and the Enforcement Bureau has started to release warning letters it sends to those accused of putting an unlicensed station on the air as a potential deterrent to others. It has become a higher priority for the Enforcement Bureau than it had been in the recent past.

Ajit Pai, the new FCC chair, takes the pirate radio problem seriously. I think we’re going to see a big change.

This is big business and a $10,000 fine is absolutely nothing! When you look at someone here in Boston like Big City Radio who has been violating the law for over a decade and they get hit with a $100,000 a day fine, have their equipment seized, and the operator gets imprisioned, this is just the cost of doing illegal business.
 
That may be so, but they'll find a way to get back on the air. And if they can't do it over the airwaves, they'll find a way to do it online. And more pirates will take their places in the meantime.
 
I think it really depends on the powers the FCC is allowed to have. If it was the IRS they'd take all your assets and freeze your bank accounts. If it was the State or County and you didn't pay a fine, they'd issue a warrant and you'd either get picked up or found out in a traffic stop. With the FCC there hasn't been much action even after the fine is issued. They aren't given the teeth other government agencies seem to have. And with their meager budget, they almost have to choose their battles. By the way, we tend to forget radio is only a small portion of what the FCC regulates. Their plate is pretty full.

If the FCC gets some help on this, I suspect you might see a change in the thinking of the typical pirate. As it is, you can be caught, fined and not pay and about the most serious thing they can do is not accept an application for a legit station. Sure they can bring in Federal Marshals to shut you down and take your equipment but chances are the pirate will just buy more equipment and start again, even if they get fined.You can bet it's a sore subject when brought up by licensed stations that say they expect enforcement for those hefty annual spectrum fees and all the work they do to fulfill their obligations of the licensee.

A hefty fine with teeth behind it turns it from just the cost of doing business to something much more dire.
 
Keep in mind that some of these pirates aren't US citizens, and may not have formal addresses or tax ID numbers. I don't know that about the ones in Boston, but the ones in the NYC area are often from other countries. They're also not easy to find. If they were, and they had a published street address, this would be easier to prosecute.

If citizens know of radio pirates and can identify their location, they're encouraged to report them to the FCC.
 
blackgold said:
That may be so, but they'll find a way to get back on the air. And if they can't do it over the airwaves, they'll find a way to do it online. And more pirates will take their places in the meantime.
Click to expand...

What's wrong with them broadcasting online only? They wouldn't be interfering with on-air broadcast stations that way.

If they don't follow internet regulations, don't pay music streaming licensing fees, etc... that's their problem if caught, but at least they wouldn't be infringing on the broadcast radio dial.
 
b-turner said:
I think it really depends on the powers the FCC is allowed to have. If it was the IRS they'd take all your assets and freeze your bank accounts. If it was the State or County and you didn't pay a fine, they'd issue a warrant and you'd either get picked up or found out in a traffic stop. With the FCC there hasn't been much action even after the fine is issued. They aren't given the teeth other government agencies seem to have. And with their meager budget, they almost have to choose their battles. By the way, we tend to forget radio is only a small portion of what the FCC regulates. Their plate is pretty full.

If the FCC gets some help on this, I suspect you might see a change in the thinking of the typical pirate. As it is, you can be caught, fined and not pay and about the most serious thing they can do is not accept an application for a legit station. Sure they can bring in Federal Marshals to shut you down and take your equipment but chances are the pirate will just buy more equipment and start again, even if they get fined.You can bet it's a sore subject when brought up by licensed stations that say they expect enforcement for those hefty annual spectrum fees and all the work they do to fulfill their obligations of the licensee.

A hefty fine with teeth behind it turns it from just the cost of doing business to something much more dire.
Click to expand...

Exactly! I’d like to know how much money, if anything the FCC has actually collected in fines from pirates in recent years.
 
Another difference here is that the FCC will go after the owners of the property where the signals emanate from. These are often churches, who will have the bejesus scared out of them when they get their first contact from the feds.
 
If you go to the corner of Blue Hill Avenue and Columbia Road in Dorchester you will see a bunch of broadcast antennas on the roof and from what I gather that is where Big City Radio illegally broadcasts from. If they went after property owners they would've been shut down a long time ago! Big City broadcasted on 101.3 for about 10 years until Bob Bitner got the translator for WJIB on 101.3 and they were forced to move to 100.3 which is WHEB's frequency, Big City now illegally broadcasts at 105.3! They go set their transmitter to whatever frequency they want and it's only a matter of time before they run out of frequencies!
 
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