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FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

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Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#11

This is how it works in Australia, which means it's a pain for tourists as you need to provide a passport for ID and get it activated, as opposed to just grabbing one at an airport kiosk and being ready to go on your way to the taxi or train like most other places.

What problem were they hoping to solve with that legislation?

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#12
post #5

Isn’t this already a requirement? Can you really buy a burner phone/sim without providing identifying information?

T-Mobile prepaid accounts for example

You can just walk in there with cash and walk out with a fully activated SIM without them asking for ID?

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#14
The Trump administration has been working overtime trying to build databases of people in this country. Leaving no stone unturned, legal or otherwise. I vaguely remember a time when American conservatives were against precisely this, often as a first principle. Maybe that's just an idealized memory on my part.

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#16

This is how it works in Australia, which means it's a pain for tourists as you need to provide a passport for ID and get it activated, as opposed to just grabbing one at an airport kiosk and being ready to go on your way to the taxi or train like most other places.

> like most other places

Much of EU requires ID for some time now. France is a bit strange, requires registration after 23 days or something. Germany, Italy, Spain it's basically impossible.

The US is rather unique in that it does not require registration.

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#17

This is how it works in Australia, which means it's a pain for tourists as you need to provide a passport for ID and get it activated, as opposed to just grabbing one at an airport kiosk and being ready to go on your way to the taxi or train like most other places.

What problem were they hoping to solve with that legislation?

[dead]

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#18
We're already forced into the credit bureaus. Into traffic cameras. Into using credit cards and banks. The idea the state would let us actually say things online anonymously (or to each other) is completely unrealistic: we must be tagged and tracked through our lifecycle.

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#19
post #3

This is how it works in Australia, which means it's a pain for tourists as you need to provide a passport for ID and get it activated, as opposed to just grabbing one at an airport kiosk and being ready to go on your way to the taxi or train like most other places.

Don’t eSIMs solve this problem for tourists?

Apple — and now Google — have "solved" this problem for the government by removing physical SIM slots in US iPhones.

Re: FCC wants to kill burner phones by forcing telecoms to get all customers' IDs

#20

This is how it works in Australia, which means it's a pain for tourists as you need to provide a passport for ID and get it activated, as opposed to just grabbing one at an airport kiosk and being ready to go on your way to the taxi or train like most other places.

What problem were they hoping to solve with that legislation?

The problem of citizens having anonymous internet connectivity.
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