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China Demands Real Names From Mobile Phone Users
itwbennett writes "Starting this month, mobile carriers in China are requiring people who set up new mobile phone accounts to register with their real names as part of a new government measure to reduce anonymity among the country's 800 million mobile users. And within 3 years, the carriers must also register the real identities of all existing users, said China Telecom spokesman Xu Fei. The new policy comes as China has been pushing users to register with their real names online. In August, online gamers had to begin real-name registration under regulations that are meant to protect minors from Internet addiction and 'unhealthy' content."
Well it seems like Australia actually has some of the most draconian laws in the "western" world concerning things like the internet, anonymity, porn, censorship and so on. And yes, I know Australia isn't in the west.
We have our moments
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Under federal law (or more specifically, the law is tacit on the subject that) ANYONE may ask that you provide a social security number - and use it as an identification number for you - except the government. Now, that comes with some caveats. You are not required to give them your SSN, but in that case they are allowed to deny you their services based on your refusal.
Your state laws may have other provisions, but normally the alternative is that you must give them enough personal identification to uniquely identify you and your entire financial history...which is really the only reason not to give out your SSN. With the information they have, just about anyone can get your SSN for $10.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Yes, this is still the case. You can buy prepaid phones and replenishment cards with cash at a convenience store and then activate or add minutes online without having to provide proof of identity. Paranoid types will do this at an open wi-fi access point to avoid leaving an IP trail. I know TracFone operates this way, but the other carriers may have a similar policy.
A couple of months ago they tried this in Mexico. At first everyone was scared because they said they'd disconnect any line that wasn't registered.
At the end they didn't because too many people didn't register (in the order of millions) and about a month after the deadline the government simply desisted on the whole idea, calling it a "bad idea" and claiming that it was badly implemented.
Too bad the Chinese can't count on that happening, though.