Oakland , California ( CNN ) -- San Francisco 's transit system board agreed Wednesday to put together a formal policy on when cell-phone service can be cut off to commuters , in response to widespread complaints and recent protests . The Bay Area Rapid Transit 's board of directors will also have the proposed policy reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission and California Public Utilities Commission . The board 's decision came during a three-hour special meeting Wednesday to discuss the agency 's decision earlier this month to cut off cell-phone signals at certain underground stations to ward off protests . That decision ignited a debate about free speech and public safety . The board agreed that the new policy would define the kinds of public safety threats warranting a cutoff of commuters ' cell signals . Developing the new policy could take up to four weeks . The proposed policy would also be presented to free-speech groups for their review , board members said . BART director Lynette Sweet acknowledged the controversy as a `` PR nightmare . '' She was upset that the board did n't have a say in the staff decision -- which was widely criticized by free-speech advocates . `` Obvious First Amendment rights and the right to have a communication are what people are looking for , '' Sweet said . `` We need to defend First Amendment rights to protest us and use cell-phone communication . '' She found the widespread public criticism `` really frustrating -- I 'm held accountable for a staff decision , '' she said . `` If we 're gon na shut off cell phones , it has to be the most extraordinary circumstances that I equate to 9/11 level . '' On August 11 , demonstrators had planned a rally to bring attention to a number of transit police officer shootings , including the death of 45-year-old Charles Hill . Hill was shot July 3 after a confrontation with officers . The transit agency said protests during rush hour endangered the safety of commuters and employees . As evidence , they cited a protest on July 11 where demonstrators had used cell phones to coordinate which stations to target . That spirited and largely peaceful rally at the city 's Civic Center stop was organized by a group called `` No Justice , No BART . '' But at the demonstration , one person climbed atop a subway train before being pulled down . BART also said protesters blocked doors and generally delayed roughly two-thirds of trains running during the rush-hour commute that day . As a result , when protesters planned another demonstration on August 11 , the subway system said it cut off cell-phone signals at some stations . BART said it did so to prevent protesters from using `` mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART Police . '' The August 11 protests never materialized . But the decision to cut off signals elicited criticism from civil liberty organizations , the San Francisco Chronicle 's editorial page and others . `` Shutting down access to mobile phones is the wrong response to political protests , whether it 's halfway around the world or right here at home , '' the ACLU of Northern California said . The Federal Communications Commission said it is looking into the incident . `` Any time communications services are interrupted , we seek to assess the situation , '' FCC spokesman Neil Grace said last week . `` We ... will be taking steps to hear from stakeholders about the important issues those actions raised , including protecting public safety and ensuring the availability of communications networks , '' Grace said . Last week , hackers attacked BART 's website and posted the home addresses and other information of all 102 police officers on the train system 's police force . It was n't clear who was to blame for the hacking incident . But in a prior hacking incident on August 14 , members of the well-known hacking group Anonymous took credit in online messages for breaking into a link off BART 's website . The hackers posted information from BART 's internal network , including phone numbers of hundreds of people . Meanwhile , police alternately closed and reopened commuter train stations in downtown San Francisco Monday after demonstrators gathered to protest the recent shootings . CNN 's Dan Simon reported from Oakland , California .
NEW : The board will have FCC and others vet proposed policy . NEW : BART ##A 's decision to cut off riders ' cell phones is a ` ` PR nightmare , '' director says . BART suspended cell service in spots August 1 to accommodate demonstrators . The move drew harsh criticism from civil liberty advocates and others .