
The Federal Communications Commission has released its fifth annual report to Congress detailing the implementation and enforcement activities of the PIRATE Act, as the maximum penalty for repeated infractions increases to match inflation in 2025.
The Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act, signed into law in January 2020, grants the FCC increased enforcement tools to deal with and punish unlicensed broadcasters. With the latest report, the maximum monetary penalty has been raised from $2,391,097 to $2,453,218, while the per-violation fine is now $122,661.
During fiscal year 2024, the FCC reports conducting enforcement sweeps in the five markets with the most reported pirate radio activity, followed by six months of monitoring in those areas. The Enforcement Bureau also issued six forfeiture orders and 18 notices of apparent liability for pirate broadcasting violations, resulting in significant fines. Among the most notable were $2,316,034 each for César Ayora and Luis Ayora in New York City, and $2,391,097 for Fabrice Polynice in Miami.
Other fines included penalties ranging from $40,000 to over $920,000 for operators in areas such as Boston, Scranton, and Oregon, with total fines exceeding $8 million in 2024.
The FCC also sent 41 notices to property owners and managers who were found to be knowingly allowing pirate radio broadcasts from their properties, 22 of which were linked to enforcement sweeps. The Commission continues to monitor these locations to ensure compliance and will take further enforcement action if necessary.
In addition to enforcement actions, the FCC updated its public pirate radio database, which was launched in January 2023, to reflect all activity through the end of December 2024.
To support its efforts, the Commission hired two additional full-time employees in 2024 and is in the process of hiring more staff. Six mobile direction-finding vehicles were also deployed to enhance investigative capabilities, and these vehicles are being outfitted with additional equipment to strengthen enforcement activities.
As Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel steps away from the Commission, incoming Chair Brendan Carr has expressed his continued support to monitor illegal broadcasts, hold operators accountable, and expand its enforcement tools to address this ongoing issue effectively.
If the offender does not pay the fine, the FCC can’t collect it. It gets referred to the DOJ which does not collect most of the fines issued to small parties. If the offender is a licensee, the FCC can decline to renew that license if the fine is not paid. If not a licensee and DOJ does not pursue, the fine remains unpaid.
We always hear these seemingly exaggerated numbers when mentioning fines, but never hear about any final results. Does the FCC ever actually close anyone down, and does Uncle Sam ever collect any money?
I hear that it would be a “Privacy Issue” to post final determinations on these citations, even though the FCC regularly posts the original communication, which gives enough info for most anyone to Google the names and addresses of those cited, but they can’t just show which have been cleared, and what may have been a technical issue or mistake?
Is Polynice still on the air? It’s been 30+ years.