FCC to Fine Chinese Retailer for Sales of Wireless Signal Jammers, Warns Against Illegal Imports
The FCC proposed the "largest fine in its history" for the alleged illegal marketing of 285 models of signal jamming devices to U.S. consumers for more than two years. The FCC proposed a fine of $34.9 million against Chinese company C.T.S. Technology, an electronics manufacturer and online retailer. The FCC said it proposed the largest fine allowed for each individual model allegedly marketed by C.T.S.
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The company allegedly misled U.S. consumers by claiming that the FCC approved certain cell signal jammers, while all such devices are illegal, the agency said in a news release. "Signal jammers present a direct danger to public safety, potentially blocking the communications of first responders," said Travis LeBlanc, acting chief of the Enforcement Bureau. "Operating a jammer is also illegal, and consumers who do so face significant civil and criminal penalties."
FCC investigators went undercover to buy 10 devices from C.T.S., said a notice of apparent liability adopted by the commission June 18 and released the next day (here). An FCC official said the agency has successfully brought similar enforcement actions against other international companies, consistent with the Hague Service Convention, which allows service of documents from one signatory state to another. China is a signatory to the convention. The complaint involves more than just marketing, since undercover agents bought devices directly from C.T.S. The website ships worldwide and prices are in U.S. dollars, the official said.
The FCC also ordered C.T.S. to stop marketing illegal signal jammers in the U.S. and provide the agency with information about any persons and entities in the U.S. that purchased its devices. The FCC warned "U.S. consumers that importing a cell, GPS, or other signal jamming device (i.e., purchasing such a device online and having it shipped into the United States via the U.S. mail or other transport or courier service) is unlawful and may subject them to civil and criminal penalties.” "We appreciate the forceful penalty the FCC imposed today to enforce its prohibition on cellphone jamming by anyone other than law enforcement," said Scott Bergmann, vice president-regulatory affairs at CTIA, a wireless company trade association. "We hope today's action by the FCC stops any other manufacturer of this illegal technology." C.T.S. did not comment. -- Howard Buskirk