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44 Ariz. St. L.J. 1355 (2012)
The First Amendment and Cell Phones: Governmental Control over Cell Phone Use on Publicly Owned Lands

handle is hein.journals/arzjl44 and id is 1381 raw text is: THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND CELL PHONES: Governmental Control over Cell Phone Use on Publicly Owned Lands W. Danny Green* Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution 1. INTRODUCTION The year is 2011. The government, fearing protest from its people, has cut off cell phone access in certain parts of the country. Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters-all are prohibited from making phone calls. In short, the government has cut off the cell phone use of all to stifle the political protest speech of a few. The rest of the world, and the United States especially, responds with outrage and disgust. The grim picture painted above describes the experience of several countries joining in what has been called the Arab Spring, which refers to a host of countries in the Arab world that have revolted against their current leadership, often resulting in an overthrow of the government.' For example, on January 28, 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak unilaterally decided to block Egyptians' cell phone and Internet access in an attempt to disrupt protest efforts.2 The act sparked worldwide outrage, not the least of which was voiced by the United States, which culminated in * J.D. Candidate, 2013, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University; B.A., Philosophy, 2010, Arizona State University. The author wishes to thank Professor Alan Matheson for help and helpful criticisms, Jeff Roseberry and Allison Clemency for being great Note & Comment editors and providing extensive feedback on multiple drafts, and Judge David G. Campbell for raising helpful criticisms. 1. See Bhaskar Prasad, 2011, the Year of Popular Uprisings: Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and Many More, INTERNATIONAL BusINEss TIMES (Nov. 26, 2011, 2:57 AM), http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/256324/20111126/2011-year-popular-uprising-arab-spring- occupy.htm. 2. Veronique Greenwood, The Internet helps foster revolutions? Think again, CBS NEWS (Aug. 30, 2011, 6:08 PM), http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/30/scitech/ main20099473. shtml.

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