Legislation Proposed to Ban Radio Re-Broadcasts

An Illinois legislator has proposed a bill that would prohibit the re-broadcast of of voice or data from the state’s public safety radio system, hoping to prevent use of the radio system by criminals. However, the bill has caught the eye of the state’s media outlets, since the language of the proposed bill seems to be aimed at preventing use of the content of the radio transmissions. Rep. Dan Brady’s apparent intent was to prevent people from receiving the radio system audio, and then re-transmitting it on the Internet so it could be overheard, including by criminals in the field. The Illinois Press Association has raised issues of access, and state officials say they also want to keep the system open to the media. The bill has passed a committee vote and is set for its third reading in the House. Download (pdf) a copy of the proposed legislation here.