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Cell/wifi service cut off in S.F. subway to thwart riots

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by LongTimeListener, Aug 12, 2011.

  1. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/12/BAEU1KMS8U.DTL

    Civil libertarians are incensed. BART -- whose officer just shot a man dead in S.F., in apparent justification, a few years after the Oakland fatal shooting that caused all the rioting -- shut down cell and wifi service when it got word of a planned moving protest in its S.F. stations. Among other responses, Anonymous is threatening an attack on the BART website as a result.

    This is where people get off track on the First Amendment/freedom of speech principle. Without this maneuver, it's pretty clear we would have been looking at major damage within the stations and a high probability of passenger injuries. London officials have been saying social networking made it impossible for them to target and respond to the riots there, and I'm sure that was in the minds of BART officials.
     
  2. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    Wrong. They didn't "thwart riots," they thwarted a protest. Their reasoning was that it could become unsafe. This is a pretty blatant violation of free speech.

    I think this guy in the story put it best:
     
  3. BitterYoungMatador2

    BitterYoungMatador2 Well-Known Member

    "Oh please, dear? For your information, the Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint."
    [​IMG]
     
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