Feds Claim Right to Search Your Home Day or Night, without a Warrant
If you live in the United States, you might have the naïve idea that police can’t enter your home without a search warrant. That’s generally true, but the federal agency responsible for regulating electronic communications claims that it can. If you own any electronic device that emits radio frequency (RF) energy, the Federal Communications Commission says it can enter your home any time to inspect it.
Most of us, of course, own multiple RF devices. Your cell phone, your wireless Internet connection, and even your garage door opener all transmit signals through the air. All are fair game for warrantless inspection, the FCC says.
The FCC claims it is only interested in RF devices that use “unlicensed” frequencies. For instance, if you operate a radio station out of your home, and didn’t bother to obtain a broadcasting license for it, the FCC may come calling. That’s particular true if the signal is powerful enough to interfere with the signal from a licensed station.
However, the FCC says that it can also inspect equipment using “licensed” frequencies. And that includes every household in the United States, with the possible exception of groups like the Amish, who eschew modern electronic devices.
The FCC doesn’t have the right to seize anything—only to inspect any broadcasting RF devices. However, if agents see anything in your home that’s “suspicious,” they can notify police, who may then be able to obtain a warrant for a more thorough search.
According to the FCC, its authority to search private homes comes from a 75-year old law authorizing warrantless administrative searches of radio transmitters. Back in 1934, of course, there were no wireless routers, cell phones, or RF-activated garage door openers. Today, almost everyone does, yet the FCC still claims the same powers.
The saving grace to this policy is that the FCC won’t simply barge into your home if it wants to inspect any of the RF devices you own. Instead, it will leave a note on your door announcing its intention to inspect whatever unlicensed (or licensed) RF devices in your home.
If such a notice appears on your door, don’t call the FCC to schedule an inspection. Call your lawyer. You have a right for your lawyer to be present for any warrantless inspection of your home.
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