§511 — Title 47 Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs | U.S. Code

Summary

People who knowingly run or help run an unlicensed radio station can be fined up to $2,000,000. If someone knowingly breaks rules about pirate radio, they can also be fined up to $100,000 for each day the violation continues, but the total fines can’t exceed $2,000,000. The federal radio agency must report each year, starting one year after January 24, 2020, to two Congress committees about how it enforced these rules and any work with federal, state, or local law enforcement (including U.S. attorneys and U.S. Marshals) on serving papers, collecting fines, seizing gear, or enforcing orders. At least once a year the agency must put staff on special duty to find and stop pirate radio in the top 5 radio markets, do follow-up monitoring within 6 months, and keep its regular enforcement the rest of the year. The agency may not override state or local bans on pirate radio. Unless there is good cause, it must go straight to issuing a formal penalty notice instead of first sending a warning. It must also publish, within 90 days after January 24, 2020 and then every six months, an easy-to-find database of all AM and FM licensed stations and all entities that have received enforcement notices, clearly showing which are licensed and which are operating without a license. Pirate radio means broadcasts on 535–1705 kHz or 87.7–108 MHz without a commission license, not including permitted low-power operations under part 15.

Title 47, §511

Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Any person who willfully and knowingly does or causes or suffers to be done any pirate radio broadcasting shall be subject to a fine of not more than $2,000,000.

(b)Any person who willfully and knowingly violates this chapter or any rule, regulation, restriction, or condition made or imposed by the Commission under authority of this chapter, or any rule, regulation, restriction, or condition made or imposed by any international radio or wire communications treaty or convention, or regulations annexed thereto, to which the United States is party, relating to pirate radio broadcasting shall, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, be subject to a fine of not more than $100,000 for each day during which such offense occurs, in accordance with the limit described in subsection (a).

(c)Not later than 1 year after January 24, 2020, and annually thereafter, the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report summarizing the implementation of this section and associated enforcement activities for the previous fiscal year, which may include the efforts by the Commission to enlist the cooperation of Federal, State, and local law enforcement personnel (including United States attorneys and the United States Marshals Service) for service of process, collection of fines or forfeitures, seizures of equipment, and enforcement of orders.

(d)(1)Not less than once each year, the Commission shall assign appropriate enforcement personnel to focus specific and sustained attention on the elimination of pirate radio broadcasting within the top 5 radio markets identified as prevalent for such broadcasts. Such effort shall include identifying, locating, and taking enforcement actions designed to terminate such operations.

(2)Within 6 months after conducting the enforcement sweeps required by paragraph (1), the Commission shall conduct monitoring sweeps to ascertain whether the pirate radio broadcasting identified by enforcement sweeps is continuing to broadcast and whether additional pirate radio broadcasting is occurring.

(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Commission shall not decrease or diminish the regular enforcement efforts targeted to pirate radio broadcast stations for other times of the year.

(e)The Commission may not preempt any State or local law prohibiting pirate radio broadcasting.

(f)The Commission shall revise its rules to require that, absent good cause, in any case alleging a violation of subsection (a) or (b), the Commission shall proceed directly to issue a notice of apparent liability without first issuing a notice of unlicensed operation.

(g)(1)Not later than 90 days after January 24, 2020, and semi-annually thereafter, the Commission shall publish a database in a clear and legible format of all licensed radio stations operating in the AM and FM bands. The database shall be easily accessible from the Commission home page through a direct link. The database shall include the following information:

(A)Each licensed station, listed by the assigned frequency, channel number, or Commission call letters.

(B)All entities that have received a notice of unlicensed operation, notice of apparent liability, or forfeiture order issued by the Commission.

(2)The Commission shall clearly identify in the database—

(A)each licensed station as a station licensed by the Commission; and

(B)each entity described in paragraph (1)(B) as operating without a Commission license or authorization.

(h)In this section, the term “pirate radio broadcasting” means the transmission of communications on spectrum frequencies between 535 and 1705 kilohertz, inclusive, or 87.7 and 108 megahertz, inclusive, without a license issued by the Commission, but does not include unlicensed operations in compliance with part 15 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations.

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References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables.

§511 Enhanced Penalties for Pirate Radio Broadcasting; Enforcement Sweeps; Reporting

Summary

Title 47, §511

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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