Rosenworcel Highlights Pirate Radio Enforcement in FCC Farewell

0

As Jessica Rosenworcel prepares to step down as FCC Chairwoman, she used her final Open Meeting to look back on her accomplishments in the past four years – including her “record-breaking” enforcement monetary actions, many of which were tied to pirate radio.

Over the last four years, Rosenworcel noted that the FCC issued more than $340 million in monetary fines across 80 enforcement actions, targeting individuals and entities that violated FCC rules.

Enacted just one year before she took the lead at the Commission under President Joe Biden, Rosenworcel has not been afraid of protecting licensees via the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement, or PIRATE, Act. This legislation empowers the FCC to impose substantial fines – up to $119,555 per day, with a maximum of $2,391,097 – for unauthorized broadcasts. It also extends enforcement to property owners and managers who knowingly permit such activities on their premises.

Rosenworcel was the first Chairperson to levy the maximum penalty in March 2023 against two habitual offenders in Queens, NY. She would later dole out the same for another unlicensed operator in the Bronx and one in Miami.

As for the rest of her legacy, Rosenworcel addressed her controversial move to try to make radio and TV operators disclose AI in political ads, enforce robocall disclosure rules, improve transparency with all-in pricing. She also discussed strengthening 911 call routing, disaster recovery efforts, and outage reporting for the Commission.

She closed by saying, “Public service is a special calling. Public service also demands a lot from us. That has certainly been my experience leading this agency. I am the first woman confirmed to do so. And I was able to break a glass ceiling because my family helped pick up the pieces at home… Thank you to President Biden for giving me the opportunity to make history. It has been the privilege of a lifeline.”

As Rosenworcel exits, Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr will take her place as Chair on Inauguration Day, January 20.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here