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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
)
In the Matter of )
DealExtreme ) File No.: EB-07-SE-300
Hong Kong, People's Republic of China )
)
CITATION
ILLEGAL MARKETING OF CELL PHONE AND GPS JAMMERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND
FAILURE TO RESPOND TO FCC LETTERS OF INQUIRY
Adopted: February 9, 2011 Released: February 9, 2011
By the Acting Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division, Enforcement Bureau:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This is an official CITATION, issued pursuant to section 503(b)(5) of
the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Communications Act"), to
DealExtreme for marketing in the United States unauthorized radio
frequency devices in violation of section 302(b) of the Communications
Act, and sections 2.803 and 15.205(a) of the Commission's rules
("Rules"), and for failing to respond to Enforcement Bureau Letters of
Inquiry ("LOIs") directing DealExtreme to provide certain information
and documents.
2. DealExtreme should take immediate steps to come into compliance and to
avoid any recurrence of this misconduct. In addition, you must to
respond to the Enforcement Bureau's June 12, 2009 LOI within thirty
(30) days of the date of this Citation. As explained below and as
provided in the Communications Act, future violations of the
Communications Act and the Rules in this regard may subject your
company to substantial monetary penalties, seizure of equipment and
criminal sanctions.
II. Background
3. The Spectrum Enforcement Division ("Division") of the Enforcement
Bureau ("Bureau") of the Federal Communications Commission has
received numerous complaints indicating that DealExtreme is marketing
in the United States cell phone signal blocker devices on its web
site, www.dealextreme.com. The Division has also received
documentation demonstrating that DealExtreme sold and shipped a jammer
device to a Brooklyn, New York resident in May 2009, and to a school
in Kentucky in 2010. Additionally, the Bureau received a jamming
device through the mail from DealExtreme as a result of an on-line
purchase in June 2010. On numerous occasions, the Division has visited
DealExtreme's web site and observed that it was marketing both cell
phone signal blocker devices and GPS blocker devices (collectively,
"jammer devices").
4. On February 21, 2008, the Division sent an LOI to DealExtreme via
certified mail initiating an investigation into DealExtreme's
marketing of jammer devices in the United States. The Division sent a
second LOI to DealExtreme via Federal Express on June 12, 2009.
Federal Express tracking records show that the second LOI was
delivered to DealExtreme on June 15, 2009, at the address referenced
below. To date, the Division has not received a response from
DealExtreme to either letter.
III. Applicable Law and Violations
5. Federal law prohibits the marketing and operation of cell phone
jammers in the United States. Section 333 of the Communications Act
states that "[n]o person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with
or cause interference to any radio communications of any station
licensed or authorized by or under this Act or operated by the United
States Government." In addition, section 302(b) of the Communications
Act provides that "[n]o person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer
for sale, or ship devices or home electronic equipment and systems, or
use devices, which fail to comply with regulations promulgated
pursuant to this section."
6. The applicable implementing regulations for section 302(b) are set
forth in sections 2.803, 15.201 and 15.3(o) of the Rules. Section
2.803(a)(1) of the Rules provides that:
no person shall sell or lease, or offer for sale or lease (including
advertising for sale or lease), or import, ship, or distribute for the
purpose of selling or leasing or offering for sale or lease, any radio
frequency device unless ... [i]n the case of a device subject to
certification, such device has been authorized by the Commission in
accordance with the rules in this chapter and is properly identified and
labeled as required by S: 2.925 and other relevant sections in this
chapter.
Additionally, section 2.803(g) of the Rules provides in pertinent part
that:
[R]adio frequency devices that could not be authorized or legally operated
under the current rules ... shall not be operated, advertised, displayed,
offered for sale or lease, sold or leased, or otherwise marketed absent a
license issued under part 5 of this chapter or a special temporary
authorization issued by the Commission.
7. Pursuant to section 15.201(b) of the Rules, before intentional
radiators like cell phone jammers can be marketed in the United
States, they must be authorized in accordance with the Commission's
certification procedures. Section 2.803(e)(4) of the Rules defines
"marketing" as the "sale or lease, or offering for sale or lease,
including advertising for sale or lease, or importation, shipment, or
distribution for the purpose of selling or leasing or offering for
sale or lease."
8. Jamming devices, however, cannot be certified or authorized because
the main purpose of the jammer device is to block or interfere with
radio communications. As noted above, such use is clearly prohibited
by section 333 of the Communications Act. Moreover, GPS signal
blockers operate within restricted frequency bands listed in section
15.205(a) of the Rules. Thus, these devices cannot comply with the
FCC's technical standards and therefore cannot be marketed in the
United States.
9. Accordingly, we find that DealExtreme has violated section 302(b) of
the Communications Act and sections 2.803 and 15.205(a) of the Rules
by marketing in the United States radio frequency devices that are not
eligible for certification.
10. Sections 4(i), 4(j), and 403 of the Communications Act afford the
Commission broad authority to investigate the entities it regulates.
Section 4(i) authorizes the Commission to "issue such orders, not
inconsistent with this Act, as may be necessary in the execution of
its functions." Section 4(j) states that "[t]he Commission may conduct
its proceedings in such manner as will best conduce to the proper
dispatch of business and to the ends of justice." Section 403 grants
the Commission "full authority and power at any time to institute an
inquiry, on its own motion, in any case and as to any matter or thing
concerning which complaint is authorized to be made, to or before the
Commission by any provision of this Act, or concerning which any
question may arise under any of the provisions of this Act."
11. Pursuant to this authority, we sent LOIs to DealExtreme in February of
2008 and again in June of 2009, directing you to provide certain
information and documents. Federal Express tracking records confirm
that DealExtreme received the second LOI on June 15, 2009. To date,
however, we have received no response to either LOI. A party may not
ignore the directives in a Bureau LOI. Accordingly, we find that
DealExtreme has also violated Commission orders by failing to respond
to Enforcement Bureau directives to provide certain information and
documents. You are again ordered, pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), and
403 of the Communications Act, to provide the information requested in
our June12, 2009, LOI (copy enclosed). You must provide this
information in the manner indicated therein within thirty (30) days of
the date of this Citation.
12. We therefore issue this Citation to DealExtreme for violating the
Communications Act and the Rules as discussed above. DealExtreme
should take immediate steps to ensure that it does not continue to
violate the Communications Act and the Rules.
IV. Future Compliance
13. If, after receipt of this Citation, DealExtreme violates the
Communications Act or the Rules by engaging in conduct of the type
described herein, the Commission may impose monetary forfeitures of up
to $16,000 for each such violation or each day of a continuing
violation and up to $112,500 for any single act or failure to act. In
addition, violations of the Communications Act or the Rules can result
in seizure of equipment through in rem forfeiture actions, as well as
criminal sanctions, including imprisonment.
14. Deal Extreme may respond to this Citation within thirty (30) days
after the release of this Citation through (1) a personal interview at
the closest FCC office, or (2) a written statement. Any written
statement should specify what actions have been taken by DealExtreme
to ensure that it does not violate the Communications Act and the
Rules prohibiting the marketing of radio frequency jamming devices in
the future. Please reference the EB file number EB-07-SE-300 when
corresponding with the Commission.
15. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, any statement or information provided
by you may be used by the Commission to determine if further
enforcement action is required. Any knowingly or willfully false
statement or concealment of any material fact, made in reply to this
Citation is punishable by fine or imprisonment. Please also note that
section 1.17 of the Rules requires that you provide truthful and
accurate statements to the Commission.
V. Contact Information
16. The closest FCC Office is the Seattle District Office, in Kirkland,
Washington. Please call Katherine Power at 202-418-0919 if you wish to
schedule a personal interview, which must take place within thirty
(30) days after the release of this Citation. You should send any
written statement within thirty (30) days after the release date of
this Citation to:
Ricardo M. Durham
Acting Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W., Rm. 3-C460
Washington, D.C. 20554
Re: EB File No. EB-07-SE-300
17. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available
upon request. Include a description of the accommodation you will need
including as much detail as you can. Also include a way we can contact
you if we need more information. Please allow at least five (5) days
advance notice; last minute requests will be accepted, but may be
impossible to fill. Send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau:
For sign language interpreters, CART, and other reasonable accommodations:
202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (tty);
For accessible format materials (braille, large print, electronic files,
and audio format):
202-418-0531 (voice), 202-418-7365 (tty).
VI. ORDERING CLAUSES
18. IT IS ORDERED, that pursuant to sections 4(i), 4(j), and 403 of the
Communications Act, DealExtreme must provide the information requested
in our June12, 2009 Letter of Inquiry as indicated above within thirty
(30) days of the release of this Citation in the manner indicated by
our June 12, 2009 Letter of Inquiry.
19. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Citation shall be sent by
first class mail and United Parcel Service to DealExtreme, 21 Man Lok
Street, Focal Industrial Centre, Block B, Room 225-226, Hung Hon, Kow
Loon, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China and by electronic mail to:
sales@dealextreme.com.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Ricardo M. Durham
Acting Chief
Spectrum Enforcement Division
Enforcement Bureau
47 U.S.C. S: 503(b)(5).
47 U.S.C. S: 302a(b).
47 C.F.R. S:S: 2.803, 15.205(a).
Specifically, the Brooklyn, New York resident provided an email from
DealExtreme confirming shipment of a jammer device to the resident. The
school official in Frenchburg, Kentucky relinquished the devices to an FCC
investigator on August 18, 2010.
See http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4355 (offering for sale a
personal cell phone signal blocker) and
http://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8758 (offering for sale a GPS signal
blocker) (visited 4/24/2008, 4/13/2009, 7/13/2009, 7/19/2010, and
2/3/2011).
Letter from Kathryn S. Berthot, Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division,
Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, to DealExtreme
(February 21, 2008).
Letter from Kathryn S. Berthot, Chief, Spectrum Enforcement Division,
Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, to DealExtreme
(June 12, 2009).
See Federal Express Tracking No. 832720587585. Federal Express tracking
records show that the June 12, 2009 LOI was signed for by "Chop Ms
Cheung."
47 U.S.C. S: 333.
47 U.S.C. S: 302a(b).
47 C.F.R. S:S: 2.803, 15.201, and 15.3(o).
47 C.F.R. S: 2.803(a)(1).
47 C.F.R. S: 2.803(g).
47 C.F.R. S: 15.201(b).
Section 15.3(o) of the Rules defines an "intentional radiator" as a
"device that intentionally generates and emits radio frequency energy by
radiation or induction." 47 C.F.R. S: 15.3(o).
47 C.F.R. S: 2.803(e)(4).
47 C.F.R. S: 15.205(a).
Furthermore, we note that it is not sufficient to merely include a notice
on your web site indicating that jammer devices may not be allowed in
certain countries, and stating that it is the purchaser's responsibility
to comply with local regulations. Such a statement is a misrepresentation
to consumers as section 2.803(a) is specifically directed at, and
enforceable against, persons selling, leasing, offering for sale or lease,
importing, shipping, or distributing for the purpose of sale or lease,
noncompliant radio frequency devices. Therefore, as a seller of such
devices, DealExtreme is also responsible for understanding and complying
with FCC rules. As noted supra, it is a violation of the Communications
Act and the Rules for DealExtreme to sell or distribute these jammer
devices to individuals in the United States.
47 U.S.C. S:S: 154 (i), 154 (j), 403.
47 U.S.C. S: 154 (i).
47 U.S.C. S: 154 (j).
47 U.S.C. S: 403.
See, e.g., SBC Communications, Inc., Forfeiture Order, 17 FCC Rcd 7589,
7591 (2002). In SBC Communications, the Commission assessed a $100,000
forfeiture against a carrier for its willful refusal to supply a sworn
declaration in response to an Enforcement Bureau letter of inquiry. The
Commission stated: "[T]he order at issue here was squarely within the
Commission's authority and, in any event, parties are required to comply
with Commission orders even if they believe them to be outside the
Commission's authority." Id. at 7591.
See 47 U.S.C. S: 503; 47 C.F.R. S: 1.80(b)(3). These amounts are subject
to further adjustment for inflation (see id. S: 1.80(b)(5)), and the
forfeiture amount applicable to any violation will be determined based on
the statutory amount designated at the time of the violation.
See 47 U.S.C. S: 510.
See 47 U.S.C. S:S: 401, 501.
See Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. S: 552a(e)(3).
See 18 U.S.C. S: 1001.
47 C.F.R. S: 1.17 ("[N]o person subject to this rule shall; (1) In any
written or oral statement of fact, intentionally provide material factual
information that is incorrect or intentionally omit material information
that is necessary to prevent any material factual statement that is made
from being incorrect or misleading; and (2) In any written statement of
fact, provide material factual information that is incorrect or omit
material information that is necessary to prevent any material factual
statement that is made from being incorrect or misleading without a
reasonable basis for believing that any such material factual statement is
correct and not misleading.")
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-248
5
Federal Communications Commission DA 11-248