The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has issued nine warnings to landowners and property managers in the Miami, Fla., area for apparently allowing illegal broadcasting from their properties.
The FCC may issue a fine upwards of $2 million if it determines that the accused parties continue to permit or engage in pirate radio activity.
The commission announced an increase to its maximum fines under the PIRATE Act — which became law more than three years ago and provides for much bigger penalties than in the past — in January. The FCC has since sent letter to property owners in New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Massachusetts, Washington, and, now, a clean sweep of the second biggest city in the Sunshine State.
The most recent batch of “Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting” sent on Friday, July 21, target properties identified by FCC Enforcement Bureau field agents as sources of pirate radio transmissions. These notices formally alert landowners and property managers of the illegal broadcasting activity occurring on their property and outline potential consequences. They also demand proof that the illegal broadcasting has since ceased on the property and request identification of the individual(s) who engaged in said broadcasting. Recipients of the notices have 10 days to respond.
[Related: “‘Radio Impacto 2’ in New York Faces $2.3 Million Pirate Radio Fine“]
“Providing a safe haven for pirate radio operations that can interfere with licensed broadcast signals and fail to provide emergency alert system notifications can have serious consequences for landowners and property managers that allow this conduct to occur on their properties,” said Loyaan A. Egal, chief of the Enforcement Bureau, in a press release.
As part of the FCC’s charge from Congress to address pirate radio activity, the commission begun what it calls “pirate sweeps.” Though it didn’t list the markets or provide explicit details, the government agency said the PIRATE Act requires it to conduct periodic enforcement sweeps of the top five radio markets where illegal broadcasts are a problem.
Earlier this year, the FCC published a database listing the people against whom it has taken pirate radio enforcement actions. It has posted field agent openings, begun sweeps of major markets and planned the purchase of a half-dozen specialized vehicles. The nine Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting in Miami can be found here.
[Related: “FCC Dings Spaceport and a N.M. State Agency for Pirate Radio“]
