News Story: Officials Block Cellphones to Hinder Protest

[HFS]

Note: I am not a lawyer, and don't play one on TV.
I seem to recall reading that state/local gov'ts and businesses can't jam cell phone signals under federal law. (State prisons wanted to do so to try and thwart the inmates who allegedly continue their criminal enterprises from inside the joint with smuggled cell phones.)
Looks like the folks in California took a different angle on shutting down cell phones to squelch a protest. Might be something to think about if relying solely on cell phone service.

SF Transit Blocks Cellphones to Hinder Protest
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Transit officials blocked cellphone reception in San Francisco train stations for three hours to disrupt planned demonstrations over a police shooting.

Officials with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, better known as BART, said Friday that they turned off electricity to cellular towers in four stations from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. The move was made after BART learned that protesters planned to use mobile devices to coordinate a demonstration on train platforms.

The tactic drew comparisons to those used by the former president of Egypt to squelch protests demanding an end to his authoritarian rule. Authorities there cut Internet and cellphone services in the country for days earlier this year.

"BART officials are showing themselves to be of a mind with the former president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak," the Electronic Frontier Foundation said on its website.

The American Civil Liberties Union criticized the tactic, saying on its blog that it was the "wrong response to political protests."

BART officials were confident the cellphone disruptions were legal. They said in a statement that it's illegal to demonstrate on the platform or aboard the trains, and that it has set aside special areas for demonstrations.

The demonstration planned Thursday failed to develop. "We had a commute that was safe and without disruption," said BART spokesman Jim Allison.

The demonstrators were protesting the July 3 shooting of Charles Blair Hill by BART police, who claimed Hill came at them with a knife. Several people were arrested when a July 11 demonstration disrupted service during the rush-hour commute and prompted the closing of BART's Civic Center station.

http://news.yahoo.com/sf-transit-blocks-cellphones-hinder-protest-073230984.html

 

[Subsonic]

They need to be able to block them in prisons and schools. I know that the correctional facility over here by Lawton has lots of problems with smuggled cell phones.

 

[gillman7]

They need to be able to block them in prisons and schools. I know that the correctional facility over here by Lawton has lots of problems with smuggled cell phones.

Why schools? If my child needs me, they need to call me. Going to school does not mean I relinquish my ability to communicate to my kid during an emergency. I don't depend on the schools or government to keep my kids safe, that is my responsibility. That is just silly. Do you have kids in school?

 

[pills510]

Jamming a signal is illegal. Turning off power probably isnt.

 

[buckeye]

I thought cell towers had backup generators. And I was unaware that any cell towers were municipally owned.

 

[Tinbender75]

No surprise

 

[HMFIC]

I guess they found another way to skin the cat since they couldn't block the airwaves.

Let this be a lesson to all of you sheep not to get too uppity.

 

[Subsonic]

Why schools? If my child needs me, they need to call me. Going to school does not mean I relinquish my ability to communicate to my kid during an emergency. I don't depend on the schools or government to keep my kids safe, that is my responsibility. That is just silly. Do you have kids in school?

There are downsides to that on the extremely rare occasion that there is an emergency but I have family members that are teachers and they talk about it being a distraction. Kids texting throughout class not paying attention. They hide the phones in their pockets and are able to type that way and then glance at it when they can. Nothing wrong with calling somebody between classes but shouldn't be a distraction like that during class. No kids.

When I was in Afghanistan, I always laughed when we rolled by people and our DUKE system cut off their cell phone service or we would turn it on when we were stationary when we saw somebody talking on their cell. Cheap entertainment.