The Federal Communications Commission is continuing its efforts to push back on alleged pirate radio operations through the threat of legal action against owners of properties where broadcasts take place.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau office in Columbia, Md., has sent a notice to a property owner in Baltimore saying that, in February, it traced unlicensed radio signals on 90.3 MHz to that location.
The property is owned by LPK Shipping. “Publicly available records identify you as the owner of the property at the Park Heights Avenue Property,” the bureau wrote in a letter to the attention of Sharif J. Small. “The FCC’s records show no license issued for operation of a radio broadcast station on 90.3 MHz at this location.”
The law now provides that people or entities that permit someone to engage in pirate broadcasting on their property can face significant financial penalties, including a fine of up to $2 million.
The recipient has 10 business days to respond “by providing evidence that you are no longer permitting pirate radio broadcasting to occur” at the property. “In addition, we request that you identify the individual(s) engaged in pirate radio broadcasting on the property that you own or manage.”
[Related: “FCC Sends Pirate Notices to Property Landlords”]