Free-speech advocates silent on BART hacking

[alp227]

Here's what might have happened had BART not cut off cell phone availability during afternoon commute hours at four downtown stations Thursday when a similar demonstration was planned: "From what our intelligence knew, their tactics were to create more chaos than July," BART spokesman Linton Johnson told reporters on a conference call Monday.

I have no way of assessing the validity of BART's supposed intel, but given the anarchic proclivities of those attracted to BART demonstrations - and their use of social media to fan the flames - I can believe it.

Yet, here's how local civil liberties groups responded to the temporary cell phone shutdown: "a chilling strike against free speech," declared the Electronic Frontier Foundation in a tweet on Thursday. "#BART Pulls a Mubarak in San Francisco," it said in a follow-on tweet, likening BART's action to the Egyptian government's nationwide shutdown of the Internet and mobile telephony during the heady days of Tahrir Square.

Not to be outdone, along came the ACLU of Northern California with the following:

"All over the world people are using mobile devices to organize protests against repressive regimes, and we rightly criticize governments that respond by shutting down cell service. ... Are we really willing to tolerate the same silencing of protest here in the United States?" ( sfg.ly/qCsDf4)

But both the American Civil Liberties Union and the EFF seem quite willing, by their silence on the matter so far, to tolerate the hacking of a BART website by an "anonymous" criminal organization and the "chilling strike" against 2,000 users of BART, whose names, e-mails and, in many cases, home phone numbers are now available for all the world's other techno-crooks to see.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/15/BU8K1KNIMF.DTL

[jberryhill]

1. Some video of the July BART protest

http://www.ktvu.com/video/28517481/index.html

The protesters "accomplished their goal" of shutting down service at several stations and causing delays throughout the system.

On the video, you can see the protesters holding open the doors, preventing the train from leaving the station, and one guy climbing on top of a train.

This happens on a crowded rail platform where you have hundreds of people in proximity to tons of moving railroad equipment.

There is no question that sort of activity on a rail platform poses a serious risk of injury.

"We are proud of ourselves for being able to shut down BART trains"

Okay, so let me see if I understand this. For the protesters to put other people at risk and impede their ability to travel is fine. But for BART to shut off cell service is a horrible violation of the protesters right to shut off everyone else's rail service?

And, I love the "what if someone had a medical emergency" hypothetical with the phone service. Do you think that NOBODY using BART that day had an appointment with a doctor or a scheduled hospital visit to get to? NOBODY uses BART to get to their chemotherapy treatment or dialysis treatment? Bullshit. One of the reasons WHY people travel from one place to another - using BART if necessary - is because they are on their way to receive medical treatment.

And so, to "punish BART", Anonymous goes and publishes the personal information of innocent people.

Fuck them.

A train platform is no place for a protest gathering.

[bemildred]

2. Sorry, I'll stick with the EFF. nt

[JimDandy]

4. + 10 n/t

[SnakeEyes]

3. While this shouldn't happen...

I have to say it's an isolated event that really shouldn't be harped on much. All you're doing is giving ammo to the right wing saying "See, this is why the government shouldn't be putting up free wi-fi. It just puts private providers out of business and then only the government controls your internet and can take it away."