Free speech activists and members of the ACLU say that cutting off cell service trampled people’s rights to free speech and peaceably assemble. Underneath the banner of rejecting censorship and authoritarian governments, a worldwide band of hackers declared war on the transit authority. Now, the FCC has announced it would look into the disruption. According to the federal agency’s spokesperson, they routinely look into service disruption to gauge what happened and why.
From the Contra Costa Times:
As BART prepared for protests and potential service disruptions Monday, the Federal Communications Commission said it would review the transit agency’s decision last week to cut off cell phone service at four underground stations in San Francisco to thwart a planned demonstration.
“Any time communications services are interrupted, we seek to assess the situation,” FCC spokesman Neil Grace wrote in an e-mail Monday. “We are continuing to collect information about BART’s actions and will be taking steps to hear from stakeholders about the important issues those actions raised, including protecting public safety and ensuring the availability of communications networks.”
Read the full article here.