EEPI - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative
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Greetings. Word is out that the National Association of Theater Owners wants the FCC to allow the jamming of cell phones in movie theaters. See for example: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/41645.html As you can imagine, the cellular phone industry is rather negative toward this idea -- as should be anyone who has their priorities straight. Such jammers are already available illicitly in the U.S., and some establishments have supposedly already been experimenting with them, figuring that patrons would just assume poor inside coverage. But can you *imagine* the liability issues that would arise in emergency contact situations if purposeful jamming were taking place, even assuming that the jamming didn't spill out into other areas? Frankly, the probability of the FCC going along with this idea is, uh, something of a long shot. Yes, people who insist on using cell phones or other obtrusive devices in theaters are a pain. But so are loud talkers, seats and floors covered with bubble gum and spilled popcorn, and of course lousy movies. The fact that the theater association is even trotting out the idea of blanket jamming suggests desperation in the extreme. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@pfir.org or lauren@vortex.com or lauren@www.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 _______________________________________________ EEPI-Discuss mailing list information: http://lists.eepi.org/mailman/listinfo/eepi-discuss