Hey, Walmart! You should watch what you’re sponsoring!

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 11/25/2018 at 08:31 • Filed to: None

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It’s illegal to jam the GPS signal in the U.S. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

This popped up in my f-book feed. 

McMike > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/25/2018 at 08:43

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Why buys these?   People in work trucks that don’t want to be tracked?    Paranoid folks who don’t want the “man” to know where their car is?

Montalvo > McMike 11/25/2018 at 08:51

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People whose cars are likely to be repossessed and have gps trackers on them.

McMike > Montalvo 11/25/2018 at 09:14

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Ah, didn’t think about that one.   LOL.  

Ash78, voting early and often > Montalvo 11/25/2018 at 10:21

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Yeah, I was gonna say “buy here pay here” clients.

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > Montalvo 11/25/2018 at 11:32

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That’s who’s stupid enough to buy a scam device that doesn’t work from Wal-Mart.

Truckers who want to go on break just put a chip bag over the antenna.

Urambo Tauro > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/25/2018 at 11:53

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Is there some super- technical difference between “jamming” and “blocking” that makes these things still legal?

Or is there perhaps some sort of range allowance, that makes the se devices oka y a s long as they ’re  weak enough not to affect neighboring cars?

Michael > Montalvo 11/25/2018 at 12:05

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Works until you shut the car off and the cigarette lighter turns off... Which is when you’d usually repo a car anyway.  When it’s off and parked.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Urambo Tauro 11/25/2018 at 12:29

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From the FCC:

“WARNING: Jammer Use is Prohibited. Prohibition Applies to Use by the Public and State and Local Government Agencies, Including State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies We again warn the public that it is illegal to use a cell phone jammer or any other type of device that blocks, jams or interferes with authorized communications. This prohibition extends to every entity that does not hold a federal authorization, including state and local law enforcement agencies.”

That’s pretty clear. Blocking, jamming, and interfering are all considered the same thing. Not even local/state law enforcement is allowed to do it.

Urambo Tauro > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/25/2018 at 12:39

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That s ounds like just a summary, like f rom a FAQ page or something . T he law itself i s probably written in legalese, and I’m wondering if the actual languag e   contains loopholes.

My bird IS the word > Montalvo 11/25/2018 at 13:23

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Also  car thieves

TheRealBicycleBuck > Urambo Tauro 11/25/2018 at 14:37

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The only loophole is that it’s not  illegal to own the equipment. Follow the link from the original post. From there, follow the links to the various FCC publications. Read it for yourself. That’s the only way you will be satisfied. 

facw > Urambo Tauro 11/25/2018 at 14:39

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Here’s a bit more detail (you can look up the cited laws for more info):

 https://transition.fcc.gov/eb/jammerenforcement/jamfaq.pdf

In any event, this device is certainly illegal (unless it doesn’t work at all?), as is advertising it.

Montalvo > Michael 11/25/2018 at 15:02

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True, but chances are that   they would already be planning on leaving their car in areas and situations to make repossessions as difficult as possible. Either way the people who end up in these situations dont make the best decisions anyway. A cheapo thing from walmart that probably doesnt work is right up their alley.

Urambo Tauro > facw 11/25/2018 at 15:02

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Communications Act of 1934

Bingo! That’s what I was looking for. Even found a link to the full  text: https://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf