Needless to say, cell phone jamming is illegal worldwide, for a bunch of reasons, and only has been used for security reasons. However, a man from Philadelphia has taken the law in his hands by using a cell phone jammer to cut off phone signals of others who he found annoying.

“I’m taking the law into my own hands, and quite frankly, I’m proud of it” said Eric, a man from Philadelphia, who acknowledged that he used a cell phone jamming device to block the conversation of his fellow bus riders.

Most people that use similar devices to block cell phone signals of others, have said that they have been using it to block incoming and outgoing calls of noisy passengers in public transportation for a more relaxed ride. However, this raises a big controversy because jamming the cell phone signal can cause collateral victims as those who have their signal blocked cannot even make emergency calls to 911.

This also contravenes with the First Amendment. San Francisco mass transit system last year had decided to block cell phone signals of protesters as part of a collective effort to prevent riot. It had resulted in more and more people protesting that this basically cuts out the free right of expressing oneself.

Although listening to private talks on public transportation might become a bother, there is no way anyone has the right to shut someone else’s right to speak or communicate. But even though this action is illegal and carries a substantial fine, many people seem to agree with Eric’s point of view that sometimes loud phone conversations can become a bother for all passengers.