FCC probing wireless blocking by San Francisco authorities

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating actions last week by the transportation authority in San Francisco which interrupted wireless service in commuter stations in an effort to foil protesters who had planned demonstrations.

FCC spokesman Neil Grace said in a statement on Monday that the agency is "continuing to collect information" about the actions by the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and "and will be taking [steps] to hear from stakeholders about the important issues those actions raised."

In particular, Grace alluded to potential public safety problems that could arise when the authorities interrupted service, an action that has caused a national outcry over whether BART exceeded its authority.

The incident prompted a cyber-attack on Sunday against BART's website by so-called "hacktivist" group Anonymous, spurring on BART critics who have rallied around the hashtag #opbart on Twitter. Critics have frame the interruptions as an infringement on civil liberties.

The FCC's statement is the first indication of attention to the issue from federal regulators.

"Anytime communications services are interrupted, we seek to assess the situation," Grace said.

BART acknowledged in a statement Friday that it has purposefully interrupted wireless service at transport stations in an effort to subdue protests that disrupted have commuter service last week. The protesters were calling attention to a fatal shooting at a BART station in July allegedly involving police.

"Organizers planning to disrupt BART service on August 11, 2011 stated they would use mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART Police. A civil disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators," BART said in a statement.

The statement also noted that cell services were not interrupted outside the stations.