FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones By Forcing Telecoms to Get All Customers' IDs

[highplainsdem]

Source: 404 Media

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wants to make it effectively impossible for people to buy what many call burner phones—a phone not explicitly linked to your identity at the point of purchase—which would impact privacy-conscious people, to domestic abuse survivors, to journalists, and many more. The FCC plans to do this by legally forcing the country’s telecoms to store a wealth of personal information about essentially all phone customers, including a government issued identification number and their physical address, alarming privacy advocates and civil rights activists who compare the measures to those from authoritarian countries where it can be difficult to buy a mobile phone plan without giving up your identity.

The proposed change would drastically shake up how people obtain phone plans in the U.S., and have all sorts of privacy and cybersecurity knock-on effects. The FCC is proposing the data collection partly as a way to combat scammers, with telecoms being required to collect other information on business and foreign customers like the intended use case of their bulk phone plan purchase and their IP address. But the changes would mean telecoms collect data on all new and renewing customers, and the FCC provides a long list of other things that the collected data could help authorities with.

“For decades, civil libertarians have looked overseas at authoritarian countries where the government requires people to register to get a mobile phone to ensure they can be tracked. We never thought that would happen here,” Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project told 404 Media in an email. “But make no mistake: with this rulemaking, the government is contemplating taking away people’s ability to get a burner phone, which will hurt low-income people, domestic violence victims, and anyone else who cares about their privacy.”

-snip-

One section stresses that the newly collected data would help “law enforcement to more easily identify callers that use the network to perpetuate crimes by ensuring that voice providers have accurate and complete customer information.” It goes on to ask if the data would help identify people buying and selling illicit goods; the investigation of “fraud, espionage, or influence operations that undermine national security”, and “address abuse in text messaging networks.”

-snip-

Read more: https://www.404media.co/fcc-wants-to-kill-burner-phones-by-forcing-telecoms-to-get-all-customers-ids/

[Initech]

1. So how will MAGA shitcasters exchange messages by shady bot filled Russian social media apps?

[mdbl]

2. They can't even regulate the old wireline/VOIP lines

I get crap calls all day from misidentified numbers. Brendan Carrtel needs to fix the shit he already has in front of him.

[WestMichRad]

3. They want to track us 24/7/365.

This is further proof.

[2na fisherman]

8. Technofascism Is Coming

Big Brother is watching and listening. Soon it might be illegal to turn off your TV/PC/phone and the concept of privacy will be eliminated for "national security" reasons because of increasing mass casualty terrorist events. People may even vote for this out of fear and a need for a greater sense of security. Such a total surveillance environment can be managed and cross-linked among all platforms by AI bots. Too sci-fi? I'm too old to see it come to fruition but it seems like this could really happen in the near future.

[genxlib]

4. I get why this is controversial

But I read a lot of spy and crime novels and this is a primary plot point. I realize it is fiction but it does ring true that they are being used for nefarious purposes beyond basic privacy protections.

Seems like there has to be a way to do this in a way that works for both sides of the argument but I do see both sides.

[The Madcap]

5. Agreed.

Unfortunately, that would necessitate a certain level of trust in the government to not misuse your info for surveillance or sell it to businesses so they can sell you stuff you don't need.

I wouldn't trust the current "government" to do the right thing in that regard.

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. Yes, they are often used for nefarious purposes

But I object to this whole idea of tracing everybody 24/7, which is the eventual aim, no matter what their argument. Fuck you, Brendan Carr, and the elephant you rode in on.

[dave99]

7. Republicans never cared for privacy of the public

[ImNotGod]

9. This will destroy pay as you go phone options for millions of americans who don't want to be tied to a contract. nt

[Karma13612]

15. See, this is the part I don't understand..

I have had pay as you go (Tracfone) for about 20 years. I have gotten new phones over the years and had to change my number a couple times. But, as soon as it was possible to ‘port’ my telephone number to a new phone, I have now had my current phone number for a long time. I’m on my 2nd Apple iPhone ( or is it my third?).

Tracfone knows who I am. I had to register with them and I log on to their website to see my current phone service expiration date and my balance of data and text and minutes.

Does this put me in the category of a burner phone? Hopefully not.

[OC375]

10. Taken to its logical end, just track everyone always.

You'll always know who the criminal is, for every crime, however minor. Cookies, embedded AI agents, cameras, GPS, it could be done. Easily.

At some point, personal privacy and security are more of a concern to me than security of the group. Sorry, gang, but that's how I roll.

Wonder when or if we'll get a chance to draw the line? Wonder if we would actually part with our conveniences if it meant not being tracked, monetized and shilled to constantly? I think we're use to it.

Not a big leap to figure out who spends all the money they get paid, and quit hiring savers, to keep the employees on the hook. How about a pay cut, then a loan pitched by a wholly owned subsidiary of your employer to help you through the tough times... then another 10% pay cut? You might have quit over the whole 20%, so you're welcome. And, you can keep your job if you keep paying the loan.

AI is fascinating.

[WestMichRad]

12. Track everyone, always?

Really?

So when I go electronics free and ride a bicycle, I’ll be a highly suspicious potential criminal. Sigh.
Then they’ll follow me around with a drone, I suppose.

[Skittles]

13. it also smacks of "if you're doing nothing wrong you've got nothing to worry about"

[OC375]

16. Exactly

Ya gotta draw a line at some point.

[DavidDvorkin]

11. But that will mess up all the cop shows on TV.

[dalton99a]

14. Once again, the Party of Liberty and Small Government

[orangecrush]

17. Scared shitless of the coming protests