Two men in New York are facing an unprecedented $2.3 million fine from the FCC in relation to the operation of an unlicensed radio station.
The fine against Cesar Ayora and Luis Angel Ayora from Queens, New York was enabled by legislation scarcely reported and passed three years ago at the behest of the radio industry.
The PIRATE Act (a retronym for “Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement”) was passed three years ago. Despite terrestrial radio’s decline as a medium, the law gave FCC investigators the ability to impose draconian punishments – up to $100,000 per day (up from $10,000) capped at $2 million. The bill also mandated yearly “sweeps” by FCC investigators to locate any pirates that may have slipped through the cracks.
5 Mag noted at the time that there was little commentary on the bill — or pushback against broadcasters’ almost hysterical claims about pirate radio stations overwhelming their signal and impeding first responders in emergency situations. Most Americans have probably never encountered a pirate radio station in their life, and that includes the time when radio was actually a popular medium.
In fact, most unlicensed broadcasting is from minority communities broadcast in languages other than English. That seems to be the case with the station presided over by the Ayoras in Queens. “Radio Impacto 2” broadcasts in Spanish, specifically identifying their station as for “Ecuadorians in New York.” Incredibly, Radio Impacto doesn’t just have its own website but link to their own “official” apps available in the respective app stores for iOS and Android.
The FCC has undertaken enforcement actions against Luis Angel Ayora as far back as 2015; a year later they claim US Marshals seized his broadcast equipment. As of the date of the FCC’s latest action, the Radio Impacto 2 is still broadcasting for New York Ecuadorians.
