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from the this-explains-why-we-never-have-bars dept.
The US government will be forced to explain why its cell network kill-switch plans should be kept secret today.
Under Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303, the US government – in particular the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – is allowed to shutdown cellphone service anywhere in the country, and even across an entire city if it feels there is a crisis situation.
However, the actual content of the policy remains secret, raising fears that it is open to abuse. For example, it's not clear who is authorized to make such a decision nor under what circumstances.
There are also groups concerned that killing of cellphone service during an emergency could make things worse.
In a frequently quoted example, San Francisco's rail system BART flipped a cell network kill-switch in several subway stations in 2011 amid a protest over a BART cop who shot and killed a drunk homeless man ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/12/bart_polioce_cut_mobile_phone_service/ ). Charles Hill allegedly threw a knife at an officer before the police opened fire.
The fact that the network shutdown was ordered against a public demonstration raised immediate concerns over how the policy is written and implemented.
In February 2013, sparked by the BART event and a refusal by the DHS to release the policy under a Freedom of Information Act request, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sued the DHS ( https://regmedia.co.uk/2015/04/27/epic-case-dhs-phone-kill-switch.pdf ) [PDF] in order to get it to disclose the details.
(Score: 5, Informative) by MrGuy on Thursday April 30 2015, @02:46PM
They don't really have to explain why the rules are secret. They've already done so. The reason they are secret is "Disclosing these rules is a threat to public safety." A court accepted that explanation previously as sufficient.
What's happening now is that EPIC has requested a re-hearing on that decision, arguing that the "public safety" justification previously accepted isn't based on a sound reading the law. A judge agreed to hear argument on that topic. EPIC submitted their position. Today, DHS' response is due.
I don't believe we should expect DHS to come up with new reasons why the rules are secret. What they'll file is what they consider the legal basis for exempting certain information from public disclosure for reason of public safety, and why they consider such an exemption appropriate in this case.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Dunbal on Thursday April 30 2015, @04:36PM
Yeah. The reason why the secret is secret is also a secret. Of course there's a good reason for this too, but it's secret. Don't worry. Trust Us (tm).