KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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FCC reminds us not to do anything illegal

Posted: 17 Jan 2021 09:16 AM PST
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/kb6nu...m_medium=email


I got this odd email from the FCC this morning:

From: FCC Office of Media Relations

Subject: Enforcement Advisory to Amateur & Personal Radio Service Licenses
& Operators

Date: January 17, 2021 at 9:45 AM

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau today issued an Enforcement Advisory warning
amateur and personal radio services licensees and operators that they may
not use radio equipment to commit or facilitate criminal acts.Â* The
Enforcement Advisory says: “The Bureau has become aware of discussions on
social media platforms suggesting that certain radio services regulated by
the Commission may be an alternative to social media platforms for groups
to communicate and coordinate future activities.Â* The Bureau recognizes
that these services can be used for a wide range of permitted purposes,
including speech that is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution.Â* Amateur and Personal Radio Services, however, may not be
used to commit or facilitate crimes.Â* Specifically, the Bureau reminds
amateur licensees that they are prohibited from transmitting
‘communications intended to facilitate a criminal act’ or ‘messages encoded
for the purpose of obscuring their meaning.’�

The full enforcement advisory is available
at:Â*https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-73A1.pdf

Media Contact: Will

This is, of course, in response to the call by some to use amateur radio in
place of social media outlets, such as Twitter and Parler. Heres one such
blog post. And, of course, preppers have been getting licenses for years.

I find it kind of funny that the FCC would issue such a statement. After
all, isnt it obvious that using personal radio services for illegal
purposes is also illegal?

As for using amateur radio as a substitute for Twitter or Parler, I think
that those that try this will be very disappointed. Amateur radio really
isnt set up for one-to-many or many-to-many communications like social
media websites are. I think those that try to use ham radio in place of
social media are going to find that its too much work for too little gain.
Who knows, though? Maybe theyll come up with a novel approach.

If I were in law enforcement, I might be more worried about the use of DMR
encryption. Im certainly no expert, but it sounds like it would be awful
tough to decrypt a DMR communication if they use the 40-bit encryption mode.

At any rate, I havent heard of any unusual activity in this area, but Im
curious if you have where you are. If so, please let us—and perhaps the
Volunteer Monitor Program—know.

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