A man in France is trying to get his children to stop using social media. Unfortunately, he even accidentally caused the internet to collapse in a city and was threatened with imprisonment.
Reports from local media France Blue said the man tried to use a multi-band jammer to temporarily turn off the internet at his home. The goal is to prevent their children from being addicted to social media.
When questioned by local authorities, the man said he used a jammer only to cut off the internet at his home from midnight to 3 a.m., presumably so that his children would stop playing social media during bedtime.
Unfortunately, the jammer used was too strong. Not only the internet in his house is dead, but also in the surrounding area in the city of Messanges, France.
Neighbors who were affected then reported the incident to a local operator, who then reported it to Agence Nationale des Fréquences (ANFR), the organization that manages radio frequencies in France.
"By wanting to cut off the internet at his home, he applies the same punishment to his entire neighborhood," said ANFR, as quoted from ZDNet, Saturday (19/2/2022).
The use of jammers in France itself is illegal because it can interfere with telecommunications signals. Because of his actions, the man is threatened with a fine of 30,000 euros and a prison sentence of up to six months.
This isn't the first time someone has accidentally subverted the internet in one city. In 2020, operators were confused to see the internet in a village in Wales, England which always shuts down at 07.00.
It turned out that all the internet problems that hundreds of villagers were experiencing were caused by one resident turning off an old TV at the same time every day. This TV turned out to emit a burst of electricity that could interfere with the telecommunications signal.