Theater Owners Want Cell Phones Blocked
Filed under: Box Office, Exhibition, Newsstand, Politics
You know that big box office crisis that we've been hearing so much about lately? Well, the Suits have finally
pinpointed the cause for it: Cell Phones! NATO (The National Assosciation of Theater Owners, that is, not the free trade
org) are currently hard at work trying to get the FCC to block cell phone signals inside of movie theaters. President
John Fithian says that as part of theater owners' attempts to bring viewers back to the movies, theaters need to start
eliminating "rude behavior." Fithian says this isn't a particularly big step, as many theaters already have
no cell phone policies, requiring guests to check their phones at the door. On the other side of this battle is another
fancy acronym: CTIA, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Assosciation. The Washington-based cellular lobbyist
group said that it will fight any move to block cell phones, because it interferes with people's ability to use
wireless devices in emergency situations.
Am I annoyed by cell phones in theatres? Sure. Do I think we need to get the FCC involved to make a bunch of rules and regulations to prevent it? By all that is good and holy, no. It already drives me nuts that every law/rule making body in the states seems to feel the need to churn out legislation at the drop of the proverbial hat. Take care of it the private sector, like some theaters are already doing – check it at the door. Throw people out who violate the policy. Sure, you won't be able to catch everyone, and sure it'll result in a few seconds of frustration by a theater full of people every now and then. But isn't a few seconds of frustration better than yet more endless federal regulation?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-22-2005 @ 2:16PM
lindenen said...
NATO's not a free trade organization. It's a defense agreement, originally pledging American forces to protect Europe in case the USSR got greedy.
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