The airwaves have long since been controlled by "governments and greedy corporations." Governments require operators to have licenses and a government that felt threatened by activities on the amateur airwaves would have no qualms about stamping them out, I'm sure.

Ham radio is free-as-in-freedom precisely because no one's figured out a way to make billions by destroying it. Yet.

Unfortunately, hams don't seem to actually use radio for much except complaining about their ailments and/or Windows 95 PCs.

I say this as someone who went through the trouble of acquiring a license, getting VHF and HF rigs, and then discovering that it's a wasteland of "So what kinda radio you got there?". The government's forbidding of encrypted traffic also helps ensure no-one will use it for anything more important than complaining about "kids these days and their computers".

> The government's forbidding of encrypted traffic also helps ensure no-one will use it for anything more important than complaining about "kids these days and their computers".

Isn't that pretty much the use case of steganography?

Yeah, if you don't have the codebook HAM discussion will be very bland.

Darn kids = Federal government

Computers = Intelligence agencies

arthritis = surveilance

getting old = getting ready to commence with the plan

mortgage = jail term

"Yeah, Dan. I hear you about them darn kids and their computers... I hear Bob's just about got his mortgage paid off finally, but I'm getting old and my arthritis is acting up, so I'm going to sign off for tonight."

Ham radio could be shut down by FCC fiat tomorrow and hams everywhere in the country would go silent. They're incapable of operating without broadcasting their positions. That is government control.

Ham radio is many things, but an anarchistic wonderland free of external pressure to conform to regulations is not one of them. Or your next rag chewing session is going to be encrypted, maybe?