The emergence of AI-driven lethal robot drones
Regulatory measures by the Federal Communications Commission in 2012
A prohibition on all signal interference tools in the United States was implemented nine decades ago — well before such tools were invented.
Regulatory measures by the Federal Communications Commission in 2012
A prohibition on all signal interference tools in the United States was implemented nine decades ago — well before such tools were invented. The Communications Act of 1934 expressly forbade the intentional disruption of radio transmissions.
Both mobile phone and GPS signal disruption functions by overwhelming the area with random signals in the same bands as cell phone and GPS signal receivers, essentially executing a denial-of-service attack on the corresponding range of radio frequencies. However, the surge in online business activity catalyzed a market for the illicit selling of jamming tools. In 2012, a traveler on a bus in Philadelphia sought tranquility and resorted to using a signal disrupter to block all mobile phones within the bus. Subsequently, that year, the FCC initiated legal proceedings against 20 e-commerce vendors in 12 states for unlawfully marketing signal disruption tools.
Despite the regulatory actions taken, the unauthorized use of signal jammers persisted. In 2013, RNM Manufacturing, headquartered in Houston, Texas, deployed a signal disrupter to prevent employees from using their mobile phones at the workplace and incurred a fine of $29,250. Unwilling to be outshone by Houston, a Dallas-based business in 2022 called Ravi’s Import Warehouse also endeavored to interfere with employee calls and was similarly penalized by the FCC, this time with a fine of $22,000.
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