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more on Theater Owners Want to Jam Cell Phones
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2005 08:51:17 -0500
Begin forwarded message: From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Date: December 21, 2005 11:16:53 PM EST To: Lee Revell <rlrevell () joe-job com> Cc: dave () farber net, lauren () vortex com Subject: Re: [IP] Theater Owners Want to Jam Cell Phones
As long as the theaters disclose that jamming devices are in use then what liability issues do you expect?
I think that they'd still get sued up the gazoo, and quite possibly would lose, the first time a doctor couldn't be reached in an emergency within a theater where they'd otherwise be reachable if not for purposeful blocking. I doubt that notifications would help one bit. I can see the TV news stories already, which would switch in an instant from "protecting theater-goers from distractions" to "the child who died due to a theater owner's jamming equipment"...
Seems like a bit of a slippery slope. If the theater owners don't use ajamming device but know that cell phone reception is impossible inside due to the building's design, are they liable for failing to disclose that cell phones won't work in the theater? Do we hold cellularoperators liable if the system is not functional in an emergency due tooverload or even operator error and an "emergency" call does not get through?
In theory, theaters could use passive screening as well, but that would tend to block out everything, including pagers and emergency or police transceivers, etc. Look, we're talking about movies, not brain surgery. There's a significant difference between purposeful and incidental communications disruptions. If a theater in the boonies just can't get cell service that's one thing. If a theater owner *purposely* takes steps to disrupt such service where it would otherwise be available that's something else entirely. I'm just saying that unless the FCC were willing and able to both grant permission for purposeful cell service disruptions, and *also* provide immunity for lawsuits when such disruptions contribute to real harm, anybody toying with thoughts of trying to block cell service had better be prepared for the worst. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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