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I don't have a problem with people who
own movie theaters and restaurants jamming
cellphones so their customers can enjoy a
quiet movie or meal. After all they own the
theater or restaurant and should be able to use
it as they please.
But of course the idiots in the Federal government
have made that illegal.
I do have a problem with people in public places jamming the cell phones of others, simply because they are annoyed by their calls. Hey it's a public place and the *sshole on the cell phone has just as much right to use the public place as the people that hate cell phones. Cellphone Jammer Man: America's newest hero? Or villain? By Rene Lynch March 2, 2012, 2:26 p.m. Cellphone Jammer Man. That could be the moniker for the nation's newest superhero. Or villain. Or upcoming "Saturday Night Live" skit. Right now, it's what you could call a Philadelphia-area bus rider who's set the online world abuzz with his brazen use of a cellphone jammer. He used the device to shut down fellow commuters when he deemed they were yakking too loudly on their cellphones and presumably annoying everyone around them. The reaction has gone something like this: What? Wait ... a cellphone jammer? And then, more often than not: How do I get one? Apparently, many people have had it up to here with the guy or gal next to them yelling into a cellphone, going on and on about their weekend or their lunch or their hair appointment. "Wait, cell-phone jammers DO exist!? Why aren't they installed in every restaurant and school across the nation yet?" said one commenter at the Daily What. "Hats off to this guy!" "Two-thumbs up" and "I love this guy! He is my hero" were among the comments pouring in at NBC10.com in Philadelphia, which broke the story. These people are not just a bunch of grumpy-pants, mind you. Researchers at Cornell University have found that the human brain is particularly irritated by half-heard conversations because they mess with our mental sense of order. Such noise has even been shown to be especially distracting and difficult to ignore, to the point of impairing the listener's performance. Cellphone jammers range in price from $40 to $10,000 and can be used as anti-terrorism devices, according to Forbes.com, which reported similar jammer use by disgruntled and unapologetic commuters in New Jersey and New York. So far, all these jammer vigilantes have been anonymous. (Cellphone jammers are banned under federal law because they can disrupt emergency services.) And, of course, there have been howls of outrage from frustrated phone users and others touting doomsday "What if" scenarios, such as needing to contact emergency responders and being unable to do so. But that response seems to be in the minority, and is shouted down by others who clearly want some peace and quiet: "How in the world did we survive for over 5,000 years without cell phones?" one commenter at NBC10.com asked sarcastically. Cellphone Jammer Man, who so far has been identified only as Eric, said at first that he was proud of his ability to enforce silence by using the jammer to disrupt reception. But after an NBC10 reporter circled back to him and informed him that what he was doing was illegal, Cellphone Jammer Man said he would get rid of the device. If he wants to sell it online, there should be plenty of potential buyers in the Tri-State area.
FCC weighs in on cellphone jammers: They're illegal and dangerous By Deborah Netburn March 6, 2012, 3:55 p.m. A national obsession with cellphone jamming was ignited last week when a Philadelphia bus rider identified only as "Eric" admitted to carrying a cellphone jammer and using it to interfere with the cellphone signals of his fellow bus riders if he felt they were being too disruptive. "A lot of people are extremely loud, no sense of just privacy or anything," he told NBC10, a local news station that broke the story. "When it becomes a bother, that’s when I screw on the antenna and flip the switch." The story of Eric and his vigilante cellphone jamming habits quickly went viral as Americans frustrated with hearing half of a conversation in the grocery store, at the playground, in the street gleefully passed the story around on social media. Media outlets capitalized on the story -- finding other commuters who use cellphone jammers, and explaining how the device works. The interest in cellphone jamming has grown so acute that on Tuesday, the FCC felt compelled to weigh in and remind Americans that no matter how much they may want to purchase a cellphone jammer for themselves, they definitely should not because (A) it is dangerous, (B) it is illegal and (C) they will have to pay a fine up to $112,500 if they get caught using one. "We caution consumers that it is against the law to use a cell or GPS jammer or any other type of device that blocks, jams or interferes with authorized communications, as well as to import advertise, sell, or ship such a device," Michelle Ellison, chief of the FCC's enforcement bureau, said in a statement. The FCC points out that jammers do more than just weed out noisy or annoying conversations and disable unwanted GPS tracking. They can also prevent 911 and other emergency phone calls from getting through. And no matter how frustrated you are with that guy fighting with his credit card company on your train, you don't want to be responsible for interfering with an emergency phone call. The release outlines two examples of how private use of cellphone jammers might interfere with public safety. In one example, a high school teacher uses a jammer in his classroom to keep kids from being distracted by their phones. But, unknown to the teacher, the jammer also inhibits teachers, students and staff throughout the school from using their mobile phones, potentially jeopardizing student and teacher safety. In another example, a certified public accountant sets up a small jammer in his office so that he won't be disturbed during tax season, but the jammer also interferes with the communications of a nearby fire department. |