AllThingsD » BART

FCC Launches Inquiry Into BART Wireless Service Shutdown

Arik Hesseldahl — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:48:18 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission said Monday it would investigate the circumstances of a shutdown of a wireless network run by San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system during a protest last Thursday.

BART authorities said they shut down parts of a wireless phone network in four of the system’s stations as part of a tactic to slow down the efforts of protesters, and that they did it because protesters had said they would use mobile devices to “coordinate their disruptive activities.” Such a disruption, BART officials argued, could lead to overcrowding on train platforms and cause “unsafe conditions,” fears of which justified the move.

The National Journal reports the FCC is looking into the shutdown of wireless service, but as yet is only “collecting information” about the actions that were taken. “Any time communications services are interrupted, we seek to assess the situation,” FCC spokesman Neil Grace said.

The protests were in response to the fatal shooting by BART police on July 3 of a man who allegedly pulled a knife on the officers. BART officials say they’re on solid legal ground. Meanwhile, another protest is planned for tonight.

San Francisco's BART Subway Defends Protest-Stifling Cellphone Shutdown

Peter Kafka — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:40:19 +0000

Authorities said they shut down cellphone service on parts of San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit on Thursday night to stifle a planned protest on the subway system. A BART statement defended the move “as one of many tactics to ensure the safety of everyone on the platform.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation immediately described the move as a “Mubarak”; others noted the parallels with the United Kingdom’s proposal to limit phone and social media services in the wake of that country’s riots.

DVD Jon’s Ad at the Apple Store: The Mystery Continues

Don Clark — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:52:48 +0000

It’s up. It’s down. It’s up. It’s down. That’s the brief, updated history of a billboard-style ad posted by the Norwegian hacker Jon Lech Johansen next to Apple’s (AAPL) store in downtown San Francisco, the subject of an item here last Saturday.

To recap: the ad was designed to promote music-management software offered by doubleTwist, a startup formed by Johansen (known as “DVD Jon” for breaking the copy protection on DVDs). The company arranged to have the ad posted on a glass façade next to a stairway leading to the subway operated by Bay Area Rapid Transit, better known as BART. From some angles, the location made it seem like the ad was on the wall of Apple’s retail store.

The ad first went up June 5, three days before Apple’s closely watched developer conference (where this year the company unveiled a new iPhone and Mac laptops). But it was removed before the show; Johansen said that he was told that BART objected because it was too dark, blocking light from the stairway.

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