SF cell shutdown: Safety issue, or hint of Orwell?

Aol News/AP ^ | 13/8/11 | Terry Collins

[Eleutheria5]

SAN FRANCISCO -An illegal, Orwellian violation of free-speech rights? Or just a smart tactic to protect train passengers' safety from rowdy would-be demonstrators during a busy evening commute?

The question resonated Saturday in San Francisco and beyond as details emerged of Bay Area Rapid Transit officials' decision to cut off underground cell phone service for a few hours at some stations Thursday. Commuters at stations from downtown to the city's main airport were affected as BART officials sought to tactically thwart a planned protest over the recent fatal shooting of a 45-year-old man by transit police.

Two days later, the move had civil rights and legal experts questioning the agency's move, and drew backlash from one transit board member who was taken aback by the decision.

"I'm just shocked that they didn't think about the implications of this. We really don't have the right to be this type of censor," said Lynette Sweet, who serves on BART board. "In my opinion, we've let the actions of a few people affect everybody. And that's not fair."

Similar questions of censorship have arisen in recently days as Britain's government put the idea of curbing social media services on the table in response to several nights of widespread looting and violence in London and other English cities. Police claim that young criminals used Twitter and Blackberry instant messages to coordinate looting sprees in riots.

[Publius6961]

Can’t think of a better way to alert the 99.99% of the citizenry that a serious national threat is in progress.

[Jack Hammer]

Don’t like to burst any bubbles, but I don’t have a cell phone, and have never felt the need. Moreover, any time I am required to make a call when out of the house, I am always quite easily able to find a public (coin operated) telephone.

Sorry, but to me a phone is just a phone.

[takenoprisoner]

Don’t like to burst any bubbles, but I don’t have a cell phone, and have never felt the need. Moreover, any time I am required to make a call when out of the house, I am always quite easily able to find a public (coin operated) telephone.

Sorry, but to me a phone is just a phone.
______________________________________________________________

All the coin phones in my neck of the woods have been robbed, and then ripped from the booth. So don’t go to Georgia lookin for a pay phone. If you find one, then watch your back. You are about to be robbed.

[Jack Hammer]

Thanks for the advice; I’ll definitely do that.

[BuckeyeTexan]

Apparently, you missed the U.N. declaration that Internet access is a basic human right.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Hard to organize a “flash mob” without cell service.

Looks like the left in SF is getting tired of their own tactics being used against them.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

” pagers worked well”

Pager went off, then you had to find a phone to find out what was happening. Vastly inferior. With the cell, I get instant information, and can give an immediate response. As the head operator of a water company, I am charged with the health and safety of over 1,000 people. Hardly a “straw man” issue!

[ctdonath2]

It’s government shutting down private communications by private citizens facilitated by private businesses for the purpose of sociopolitical control.
THAT is censorship defined.

[ctdonath2]

Public ownership of airwaves amounts to practical management of a limited resource. The point is to facilitate private communications; the content of those communications is legally irrelevant. Shutting down the communications system because of the POTENTIAL of a FEW objectionable calls is outright censorship.

[ctdonath2]

PSA: Amateur Radio licenses are available cheap and no longer require Morse Code skills.

[engrpat]

If I understand correctly, BART supplies and owns the equipment necessary for cell phones to operate on their system. If this is the case they sure have the right cut the service off. BART would be smart to just cut off the service and leave it off.

[EBH]

Ok...here we go again with this stuff. Please see this post from yesterday...before forming the ‘free speech’ mantra.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2763013/posts?page=21#21

It is the same group that pulled this ‘stunt.’ This is not a protest of folks standing around and chanting. These people put everyone’s safety at risk.

There is a video link at post #21.

[EBH]

Actually their protest stunt from the last time never considered anyone’s safety.

[EBH]

History here folks:

BART Protest Shuts Down Several SF Stations

Once one East Bay-bound train had inched into the station, some protesters boarded the train and began banging on the train's windows. After about 10 minutes, safety officers and police were able to close the train's doors and the train departed the station.

Shortly afterward, at about 5:20 p.m., the station's LED message boards displayed messages informing passengers that no trains would be stopping at Civic Center station.

By 5:30 p.m., Muni announced that its service had also been suspended at the station.

By 6 p.m., some of the group had moved to Powell Street station where they were chanting and screaming on the BART platform. At some point before then, the platform had temporarily been closed because of overcrowding related to the influx of passengers displaced from Civic Center station.

It appeared that all of the protesters boarded a Daly City-bound train at 6:17 p.m. Although some of them attempted to block the doors and prevent the train from leaving the station, the train departed a few minutes later.

Earlier Monday BART spokesman Linton Johnson said such a protest would be illegal.

"Disruptive protests like this planned on small platforms with fast moving trains and large crowds are against the law because they put ... riders, BART workers, journalists and protesters at serious risk of injury or death," he said.

[EBH]

All the landline courtesy phones in the station were working and the station was filled with officers. I think 911 was already on the scene for the most part.

And based on the last stunt protesters pulled...emergency services would not have been able to get to the person in need anyway...because the perps were blocking the platform, train, and train doors anyway.

911...straw man

[King Moonracer]

is that Eric Holder’s leg? I wonder if he has a free cell phone?

[seowulf]

...the content of those communications is legally irrelevant.

I would add that unless that communication is of the "yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater" kind.

I think most courts would find communication of a conspiracy to commit mob violence to be of that persuasion.

While it is true that the government cannot prohibit the exercise of free speech with the exception that I've mentioned, the government is also under no obligation to facilitate it. So, the city is under no obligation to ensure cell phones operate on their trains.

[zeugma]

So if for example, there is an attempt at some sort of terrorist attack (e.g., Sept 11 is the ten year anniversary) and the gov could, theoretically, exercise the internet kill switch AND a cell phone block to keep terrorists from communicating. Would be kinda surprising to those caught in the middle.

Not only that, but it would severely hamper first responders, and the general public, whose efforts are invaluable in such circumstances. So in order to impede 5 terrorists, you cripple the ability of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of citizens? This has nothing to do with 'free speech' in the constitutional sense. It is yet another example of statists in the government attempting to exercise powers it simply should not have. You'll find plenty of statists right here on this site to applaud the governments further interference in our lives. I, for one, will not.

[American in Israel]

911 is not a straw man issue, it is quite valid. Hey, I got an idea, everyone showing up at bart wears hand cuffs that will be taken off at your destination. /s

Or, we could arrest the perps. You know, police enforcing law and all that. How come these days we attack the victims in the name of the perps?!

How come that is acceptable, is this the new America? Seems Orwellian to me this line of thinking.

[ctdonath2]

Once again the “yelling ‘fire’ in a crowded theater” justification of censorship fails.

The better analogy is taping every audience member’s mouth shut as they enter the theater because of rumor of a conspiracy for a few people to shout “fire”.