BART's action last Thursday - which ignited an international debate about technology, free speech and public safety - was an effort to diffuse an antipolice demonstration. But it spurred an even larger protest Monday that was organized online by a loose-knit band of computer hackers known as Anonymous.
"It may be BART's equipment, but that doesn't mean that they have the freedom to do whatever they want to with it," said Michael Risher, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
Some civil-liberties groups said BART overstepped the First Amendment because it imposed restrictions on the speech of everyone in the area as punishment for speech and behavior that it only speculated would happen.
The service interruption may be the first time in the U.S. that a government agency shut off a communication system in response to a perceived threat, civil-liberties groups said. Other countries have instituted more widespread shutoffs, including in Egypt during unrest this spring.
"All over the world people are using mobile devices to organize protests against repressive regimes, and we rightly criticize governments that respond by shutting down cell service. ... Are we really willing to tolerate the same silencing of protest here in the United States?" ( sfg.ly/qCsDf4)
Free-speech advocates silent on BART hacking
Anonymous Targets BART Over Cellphone Cut - WSJ.com
Cell service stays on during BART protest in SF
contact the FCC here!
Protest shuts down 4 BART stations - latimes.com
BART’s cellular shutdown: Safety or suppression? | The Informant
Plenty of losers, few winners in BART debacle
BART vs. Anonymous: Dumb and dumber | Cringely - InfoWorld
After Cellphone Action, BART Faces Escalating Protests - NYTimes.com
Lawmaker suggests San Francisco subway agency went 'too far'
BART cell shutdown unconstitutional? Not so fast – California Beat
Syria, U.S. not that different - Spokesman.com - Aug. 19, 2011
BART gets it wrong - Vallejo Times Herald
Anonymous-led protest against BART becomes violent — RT
2 BART stations open, close as protesters roam
TRANSIT ADVOCATES IN SF CREATING PROBLEMS FOR POLICE
BART's Cell-Service Cuts: Not Egypt, But Not Quite America Either - Quinn Norton - Technology - The Atlantic
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