Cell phones have become a way of life. Adoption of cell phones has been so widespread that a person who does not have one is truly unique. Cell phones at first were likely considered a status symbol. However, the true explosion in cell phone adoption is the result of the incredible benefits cell phones provide their owners. Among other things, cell phones allow a person to be as available as they want to be. They allow their owners to make calls at anytime, from virtually anyplace. People no longer have to try to seek out that elusive payphone that was never quite where it needed to be. Cell phones allow parents to keep track of their children. Cell phones provide people with a safety net if their car breaks down.
However, along with these benefits there are also costs to the rise in cell phone use. Using a cell phone in a car can be dangerous as it distracts the driver from the task of driving. This problem has received much attention and research and is an important concern. However this problem is the focus of this comment. The problem addressed here is more subtle. Cell phones can be annoying to those around the person using the phone and maybe something needs to be done about this. Consider the following situations and consider how you might react to someone using a cell phone: a quiet playhouse where a performance is occurring, a classroom, a movie theater, an elegant restaurant, a library, a bookstore. Cell phone use in these situations would seem to annoy many people. The question can and should something be done about it?
Up to this point in the United States little has been done in regulating cell phone use. Some common forms of regulation have been signs suggesting non-use, signs claiming to prohibit use, and self imposed common sense usage. The likely reason for the limited control over cell phones in the U.S. is that first of all there are laws that protect the airwaves and protect the open use of them in general. However, there is also the common view that protecting freedom of action is important. Thus, many people feel people should just be free to use their phones. For these reasons up to this point jamming devices have been illegal in the U.S. Most other countries have had similar policies, however there does appear to be a trend of moving away from this position. Some countries have made jamming devices legal, Canada is considering such action, and there is a growing view that we should do the same in the U.S.
Jamming devices are basically machines that block the use of cell phones, by interfering with the cell phones signal. They can be installed in rooms, buildings, etc. and basically prevent the use of cell phones in that area.
The question that remains is, should jamming devices, or something similar, be legal in the U.S. to prevent the annoying aspects of cell phones in certain situations? Should movie theater owners be able to jam cell phones so they can protect all their customers from the irresponsible use of a phone by one customer? I do not know the answer to this question, but we do need to think about it. We need to consider how much we value the freedom to use a cell phone anywhere and anytime as compared to the right to have peace and quiet, the right to protect ones customers from annoyance in a private business, etc.
There are some possible solutions to the problems with cell phone use. We could maintain the status quo and just expect people to live with some annoyance. We could legalize jamming devices for anyone to use at anytime. We could allow jamming devices, but only in certain approved places. We could also create a version of nuisance law that would make it illegal to use cell phones in certain settings under certain conditions. We do protect individuals' rights to live in their homes free from excessive noise from their neighbors, why then can we not protect individuals form certain types of cell phone use. What the solution is, if any, is not clear, but something might need to be done.
For additional information please see:
www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/2001-04-23-cell-phone-jam.htm
www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2001/0507netbuzz.html
www.safety-council.org/info/traffic/cell-laws.html
strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/sf05409e.html
www.newhouse.com/archive/story1a092200.html
www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/03/29/phone.jam/index.html
www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/02/26/hk.cellphonejam/index.html
