A bevy of public interest groups called on the Federal Communications Commission Aug. 29 to issue a preemptive ruling against local government suspension of commercial cellular service.

In an emergency petition for a declaratory ruling (.pdf), groups including Public Knowledge, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, say federal communication law gives the FCC authority to issue rules preventing local governments from shutting down cellular service.

Interruption by government actors, absent due process, is a violation of the Fifth Amendment, the groups contend. The petition doesn't address First Amendment issues.

The petition was prompted by a 3-hour disruption of cellular service by the Bay Area Rapid Transit system--more commonly known as BART--in four downtown San Francisco subway stations on Aug. 11. BART officials said they shut down power to cellular transmitters following reports of a planned protest over the July 3 fatal shooting by transit police of a homeless man, Charles Blair Hill. A July 11 protest disrupted (embedded video) BART service at three downtown San Francisco stations.

"BART's solution was to remove the ability of any passenger in its underground stations and tunnels to make any communication via their wireless phones, regardless of the destination, content or purpose of their message," the petition states.

Even if BART, acting in a law enforcement capacity, shut down cellular service over suspicion that communication networks were being used to commit a crime, various courts have ruled that suspicion of illegal activity isn't enough to deny communication services, the petition says. But in any case, "BART's remedy was not targeted to prevent specific individuals from committing a crime," the petition adds.

Cellular networks are increasingly the focus of policymakers, the petition notes, particularly as concern over "flash mobs" grows. The United Kingdom is considering imposing social media restrictions following days of riots in London.   

"Interference with communications has a long history of being used to suppress civil rights protests over a wide variety of traditional and new media, from distributing flyers to television broadcasting," the petition says.

BART officials have said they acted out of concern to public safety. Information about the planned Aug. 11 protest led "BART to conclude that the planned action constituted a serious and imminent threat to the safety of BART passengers and personnel and the safe operation of the BART system, at a level that could far exceed the protest of July 11," said an Aug. 20 letter from BART Board of Directors President Bob Frankly and then-Interim General Manager Sherwood Wakeman.

For more:
- download the petition (.pdf)

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