The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau issued 16 warnings to landowners in the New York City/New Jersey metro area for apparently allowing illegal broadcasting from their property. The FCC may issue each one a fine exceeding $2 million if it determines that the party continued to permit any individual or entity to engage in pirate radio broadcasting from any property that they own or manage.
“The law is clear: owners can no longer turn a blind eye to pirate radio operations on their property,” said Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal. “Such activities can interfere with licensed broadcast signals and do not meet the emergency alerting responsibilities of lawful radio stations.” She thanked the agency’s field agents for their “ongoing vigilance.”
The Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting target properties identified by bureau field agents as sources of pirate radio transmissions during the bureau’s 2022-2023 New York Pirate Sweeps. These notices notify landowners of the illegal broadcasting activity occurring on their property and inform them of their potential liability for permitting such activity to occur on their property. The notices also demand proof that the illegal broadcasting stops and asks landowners to identify the pirate radio broadcasters.
The PIRATE Act gives the FCC additional enforcement authority, including higher penalties against pirate radio broadcasters of up to inflation adjusted amounts of $115,802 per day with a maximum of $2,316,034. In addition, the law requires the FCC to conduct periodic enforcement sweeps and grants the Commission authority to take enforcement action against landlords and property owners that willfully and knowingly permit pirate radio broadcasting on their properties.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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