(Robin Weiner, File/Associated Press) - FILE - Commuters enter and exit a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in San Francisco’s financial district in this Sept. 15, 1997 file photo. Officials with the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, better known as BART, said Friday Aug. 12, 2011 that they blocked cellphone reception in San Francisco train stations for three hours to disrupt planned demonstrations over a police shooting.
SAN FRANCISCO — An illegal, Orwellian violation of free-speech rights? Or just a smart tactic to protect train passengers 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 cellphone service for a few hours at several stations Thursday. Commuters at stations from downtown to near 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’s board of directors. “In my opinion, we’ve let the actions of a few people affect everybody. And that’s not fair.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/sf-transit-agencys-cell-phone-shutdown-shielding-commuters-or-hints-of-orwell/2011/08/13/gIQAjqbfDJ_story.html
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