Probably every parent has experienced the problem of their child holding a tablet or phone and suddenly unable to take his eyes off it. Many parents try to limit parental blocking or screen time, encouraging kids to spend time with family and friends instead of looking at screens. But these efforts usually never involve using a multi-waveband jammer that cuts off an entire county’s internet connection.
We usually say; because now there is someone who has tried it. That’s exactly what ended up when a man in Messanges, France, used an illegal signal jammer to deter his child from screen time, cutting off the internet connectivity of residents in a large area around him. Now, he faces a fine of 30,000 euros and a prison sentence of up to 6 months for this mistake.
For a period of time, a mysterious internet outage was reported between midnight every day and 3 am every night. A telephone operator took the call and sent a technician to the site in a laboratory vehicle equipped with a sensing device capable of isolating the waves to find the cause of the fault. Unbeknownst to the father, who was probably sleeping soundly knowing that his child couldn’t connect to the internet, the source of the problem was the device he had installed.
When questioned, the father said that they were “addicted” to social media and that he used a multi-waveband jammer to disconnect his child from the internet connection. However, local media outlet France Bleu reported that these jammers have a much wider range than is usually thought, and actually affect an area covering two municipalities. Of course, for obvious reasons, these devices are illegal to use in France.
The parent is currently under investigation and will be liable to pay all fines brought against him, including the work carried out by the National Frequency Agency…