If you’ve ever wondered why so many people go mad in our modern society, here’s a clue: overgovernance. Does the Federal Communications Commission really have the right to invade your property whenever it wishes?
“Anything using RF energy — we have the right to inspect it to make sure it is not causing interference,” says FCC spokesman David Fiske. That includes devices like Wi-Fi routers that use unlicensed spectrum, Fiske says.
But what about the fourth amendment?
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The only way to stop the mentality of the millions of bureaucrats like David Fiske is to stop cooperating with them. Sue them. Obfuscate. Be civilly disobedient. If none of that works, be uncivilly disobedient. The end result of not doing so is a nanny state where government supercedes all other authority and becomes the official religion of the geopolitical sphere it controls. When it comes to the memewar between nannyism and the spirit of independence, nannyism is certainly dominant in the year 2009. The FCC should not be able to fine people for refusing entry in regards to private property.
“It is a major stretch beyond case law to assert that authority with respect to a private home, which is at the heart of the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure,” says Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Lee Tien. “When it is a private home and when you are talking about an over-powered Wi-Fi antenna — the idea they could just go in is honestly quite bizarre.”
The rules came to attention this month when an FCC agent investigating a pirate radio station in Boulder, Colorado, left a copy of a 2005 FCC inspection policy on the door of a residence hosting the unlicensed 100-watt transmitter. “Whether you operate an amateur station or any other radio device, your authorization from the Commission comes with the obligation to allow inspection,” the statement says.
The notice spooked those running “Boulder Free Radio,” who thought it was just tough talk intended to scare them into shutting down, according to one of the station’s leaders, who spoke to Wired.com on condition of anonymity. “This is an intimidation thing,” he said. “Most people aren’t that dedicated to the cause. I’m not going to let them into my house.”
But refusing the FCC admittance can carry a harsh financial penalty. In a 2007 case, a Corpus Christi, Texas, man got a visit from the FCC’s direction-finders after rebroadcasting an AM radio station through a CB radio in his home. An FCC agent tracked the signal to his house and asked to see the equipment; Donald Winton refused to let him in, but did turn off the radio. Winton was later fined $7,000 for refusing entry to the officer. The fine was reduced to $225 after he proved he had little income.
Would I have paid the FCC a $225 fine? Absolutely not. Take me to court and show me the warrant. That is the attitude we should all have. If government is going to play the role of bully, then we should gang up and defend ourselves with whatever means we have available. We should disobey and be noncooperative whenever the government doesn’t follow its own rules or strays outside boundaries we have placed on it. I don’t want or need to be protected from “pirate radio stations” or other made up “threats.” In the land of the free, the FCC is an unneccessary burden on the belly of society. We should loudly remind each other and it of that fact.