The recent action drew comparisons to when Egypt and Internet service in January to thwart political activism. That struck a nerve with Americans, who asked if such a thing could happen .

Apparently, yes.

With undeniably bad timing, the Bay Area Rapid Transit admitted Friday to shutting off subterranean cell phone service to prevent a protest Thursday. Civil rights advocates have been critical of the move, reports .

An attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation said the removal of the service to prevent political speech between protesters disregarded free speech rights. The American Civil Liberties Union also said BART may not have the right to shut off its cellular network to halt a protest.

"Once BART opens a forum for expression, their authority to close it down becomes a little more limited," said Michael Risher, a staff attorney for the ACLU of Northern California. "As far as I know, no governmental entity in this country has ever done anything like this."