FCC to Investigate BART Cell Service Shutdown http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391168,00.asp FCC: Wireless Services: Cellular Services: Operations, Blocking & Jamming http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=operations_2&id=cellular BART statement on temporary wireless service interruptions in select BART stations on August 11 http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2011/news20110812.aspx BART made right choice to shut cell service to thwart protestors http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/2011/08/bart-made-right-choice-shut-cell-service-thwart-protesters Cell Phone Censorship in San Francisco? http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/cell-phone-censorship-san-francisco Civil libertarians and others are rather concerned over a recent decision by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system to shut off cell phone service in several of its downtown San Francisco stations. The matter began last week when a number of groups protesting the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man by BART Police decided to protest in and around the stations during rush hour. In an official statement, BART remarked that "Organizers planning to disrupt BART service stated they would use mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART police." The details are all still under investigation, but at this time, it appears that BART employees turned off the cell phone service, rather than engaging in signal jamming, which would potentially be in violation of the Communications Act of 1934. The ACLU responded quickly by noting, "BART is the first known government agency in the United States to block cell service in order to disrupt a political protest." The FCC is investigating the incident, and it is very much a story worth following. The first link will take users to an article from this Saturday's San Francisco Chronicle on this recent incident. The second link leads to a news article on these activities from Tuesday's online PC Magazine website. Moving along, the third link will take interested parties to the official statement from the FCC on blocking & jamming of wireless communication signals, as well as more information about cellular services. The fourth link will whisk users away to the official statement from BART regarding these temporary wireless service disruptions. The fifth link leads to an editorial from this Tuesday's San Francisco Examiner regarding BART's decision. The final link will take visitors to a bit of commentary from the ACLU "Blog of Rights" on the issue of cell phone censorship.