A French father is facing jail time and a hefty fine for using a signal jammer to block his children from going online and affecting others in a nearby town.

Starting at midnight and ending at 3am every week, the French town of Messanges found their mobile phones and internet service no longer functioning.

A mobile operator reported the problem to the Agency Nationale des Frequencies (ANFR), the public agency responsible for managing the radio spectrum in France, and it was determined that someone was using a signal jammer to block radio frequencies in the town.

A signal jammer is a device that transmits radio waves at the same frequency as mobile devices to prevent them from connecting to cell towers and receiving legitimate signals.

A report from the ANFR explains that a technician tracked the jamming signal to a house in a neighboring town, where the homeowner admitted to buying the mobile jammers online and using it to force his teenage children offline.

“The reason is disturbingly simple: the jammer was installed by the head of the family in order to prevent his children from surfing the internet on their smartphones before bedtime! His children have literally become addicted to social networks and other apps, especially since the quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the ANFR explains in the report.

“After consulting Internet forums, the father decided that a jammer was the best solution to stop these excesses!”

While the father’s intention was not to disrupt the internet for the entire town, using a jamming device is illegal in France and punishable by a fine of up to €30,000 and six months in prison.

Similarly, using a jammer in the United States is illegal and can result in prison and hefty fines.

“The use or sale of jammers in the United States may be subject to hefty fines, confiscation of illegal devices, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment,” the FCC’s enforcement alert on jamming explains.