FCC probes government shutdowns of wireless networks

The FCC is seeking public comment on the subject of when or if government agencies - such as the police or transit authorities - can intentionally jam cellphone signals and Internet service for the sake of public safety. The issue gained prominence last August after a decision by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system to shut down cell phone service in several stations to thwart a protest.

"Any intentional interruption of wireless service, no matter how brief or localized, raises significant concerns and implicates substantial legal and policy questions," the FCC said in a public notice on Thursday. "We are concerned that there has been insufficient discussion, analysis, and consideration of the questions raised by intentional interruptions of wireless service by government authorities."

The FCC is asking people to weigh in on a range of questions, including the potential authority of government agencies to shut down wireless service; and the reasons and risks behind intentional outages. Blocking access to wireless networks raises serious legal and policy issues, said Harold Feld, legal director for Public Knowledge, which joined other advocacy groups in asking the FCC to rule on the outages last year.

"The same wireless network that police see as a tool for rioters to coordinate is the same wireless network used by peaceful protesters to exercise our fundamental freedoms," he said in a statement. "More than that, in any event, the network will be necessary for people in the area to call for help or to let family members know they are not harmed."

Read more -here-

• Google: Passkey authentications top 1 billion across 400 million accounts
• FTC fines Razer for misrepresenting COVID masks as N95s
• FCC fines Verizon, AT&T other major carriers nearly $200 million for sharing customer data
• Federal regulators accuse Amazon executives of deleting messages
• FCC restores net neutrality rules
• US moves to force ByteDance to sell TikTok