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Steve Stroh N8GNJ's avatar

I agree that Amateur Radio is global and infrastructure-independent, but just like in civil society, there are limits to "free speech" on Amateur Radio. At least in the US, harassment, "hate speech", calling Mayday when there is no emergency, and especially blatantly commercial use of Amateur Radio spectrum and broadcasting are not permitted within the Amateur Radio rules.

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FREE-VEC's avatar

> harass/ment

Does not appear in Part 97. "communications intended to facilitate a criminal act" (§ 97.113(a)(4)) does, so you are not permitted to violate the states' criminal harassment statutes, nor federal, if any.

> "hate speech"

Does not appear in Part 97. The closest it comes is "No VEC may discriminate in accrediting VEs on the basis of race, sex, religion or national origin" (§ 97.525(b)). The obscenity or indecency tests that do apply (§ 97.113(a)(4)), are not so overbroad as to fit all "hate speech" under their definitions.

> calling Mayday when there is no emergency

That is a specific defensible example with other criminal statutes for it, eg. to the Coast Guard. The overbroad "false or deceptive messages, signals or identification" (§ 97.113(a)(4)) would, if zealously-enforced, abridge all mistaken free speech.

> especially blatantly blatantly commercial use of Amateur Radio spectrum

No such rule need exist for anyone in engaged in _amateur_, as opposed to commercial, radio service, which would exist even without codification.

> and broadcasting are not permitted within the Amateur Radio rules.

§ 97.111(b)(4,5,6) are in fact forms of broadcasting permitted, the euphemism "one-way transmissions" notwithstanding.

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