SEPTA Conductor Asks Passengers To Refrain From Displaying 'Questionable' Photos

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When a SEPTA train pulled into 30th Street Station, several passengers were confused when the conductor made a rare announcement.

"A public announcement was made from a SEPTA employee, that if we have questionable photos on our phone, we should refrain from opening our cell phone," said Francine Raichlen, a SEPTA passenger.

Raicheln tells Eyewitness News, she and many others were confused by the word "questionable."

"Where does it stop? Will SEPTA tell me that my dress is 'questionable,' that my language is 'questionable' and I might have to stop using certain words because they're offensive?" Raicheln said.

"Questionable to me means pornographic," said Shannon Smith.

Ronald Potts says pornography or not, if it's on "his" phone, while on the train, it shouldn't matter.

Eyewitness News contacted SEPTA to find out what prompted the conductor to make the announcement.

"He (the conductor) tells me there was a young girl, a teenaged girl, sitting in one of the cars. As he approached her, she seemed uncomfortable and he could see right in front of her were two men sharing images, sexual images on an iPhone. They were sort of passing it between the two of them," said Jerri Williams of SEPTA

American Civil Liberties Union says it's important to understand that SEPTA is part of a government organization, and because of that, "the government has a lot more leeway to regulate the kind of images or material you're talking about on a train," says Mary Catherine Roper of ACLU Pennsylvania.

"Remember, they never said illegal, they never said pornographic, they said 'questionable.' This is a new role for SEPTA," said Raichlen.

Watch the video...

Reported by Jericka Duncan, CBS 3