Retailers selling signal-jamming devices that illegally interfere with cell phones, GPS, Wi-Fi and other wireless technology will face steep fines if they do not cease the marketing and sale of such devices.
There are 20 known onloine retailers who market products that give users the ability to violate federal law and FCC rules by "jamming" the signals of wireless communications. Each one was warned in the document by the FCC, which hopes to send a strong message that such violations will not be tolerated. Jamming devices pose risk to public safety and may have very dangerous consequences for consumers and first responders, according to Michele Ellison, chief of the enforcement bureau at the FCC.
Penalties for violating the order include fines of $16,000 to $112,500 for each device or each day a device is marketed, according to a press release. Additional penalties may include equipment seizure or imprisonment.
Retailers do not technically fall under the jurisdiction of the FCC, therefore the federal government requires the Commission to first issue a warning before assessing any penalties. Other efforts to prevent jamming have occured in the past, but this recent citation is the boldest attempt to enforce the rules. Consumers and retailers were given advisory back in February that enforcement efforts were increasing, and that retailers who sell the equipment would be held responsible as well as the consumers who operate the jammers.
Read more at Urgent Communications.
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