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Proposed Law Would Require ID To Buy Prepaid Phones

Posted by timothy on from the stamps-too-because-of-ransom-notes dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "The Washington Post reports that Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced legislation that would require buyers to present identification when purchasing a prepaid cellphone and require phone companies to keep the information on file, as they do with users of landline phones and subscription-based cellphones. 'This proposal is overdue because for years, terrorists, drug kingpins, and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones that are hard to trace,' says Schumer. Civil liberties advocates have concerns about the proposal, saying there must be a role for anonymous communications in a free society, adding that the space for such anonymous or pseudonymous communications has been narrowed since pay phones, for example, have largely disappeared."

9 of 615 comments (clear)

  1. Fake ID? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I guess we couldn't use fake IDs to circumvent this, now could we?

  2. .. right ... by ak_hepcat · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Um, hey, Fred, while you're at Best Buy, could you pick me up a throwaway phone? I'm going on vacation and don't want to
    take my RAZR with me to jihad-camp"

    Sigh. Security theatre is not secure.

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    1. Re:.. right ... by Qzukk · · Score: 3, Funny

      "Oh, I bought that for my friend Steve."

      That's what they all say.

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      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  3. Burn Notice by danbert8 · · Score: 5, Funny

    But what will Michael do in his crazy antics in Miami? He usually needs like 3 prepaid phones for every job. It will kill off one my favorite shows!

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  4. Privacy: Same Shit, Different Day by Maarx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Clearly, the only people who would object to such legislation are criminals.

    Those of us who aren't doing anything illegal would have absolutely no reason to fear the loss of anonymous communication.

  5. Re:include 'common-sense' returns false. by mitgib · · Score: 5, Funny

    Which party is that? The two sponsors represents both major parties.

    Yup, that's the one

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    Being a spelling & grammar Nazi is a sign you do not poses the intelligence to contribute to the conversation
  6. Re:Signal strength: [Y__] by dmesg0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sorry, I didn't expect you to erase my second line and then write it again in reply.

  7. Re:The Premise is False by BarryJacobsen · · Score: 4, Funny

    You do NOT need to give the phone company an ID for a landline.

    How did you not give them your address?

    I gave them a fake address. Still waiting for them to show up to install it, though...

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  8. I'll stock up, too by twoallbeefpatties · · Score: 3, Funny

    I plan on selling prepaid phones on eBay at a large markup. :V

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    Libertarians somehow believe that private businesses should be stronger than governments but weaker than individuals.