With Encryption Battle on Hold, Burner Phones Now Targeted
- Thread starter LJ Ellis
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Having a phone and not being locked to a 2-year has a lot of applications if you have uneven income or a kid.razer17 said:
Also, needing an SSN to buy a phone? One of the legal applications for burner phones is foreign nationals needing a temporary one for their time in the states.
Is the US Government are of how Orwellian this all sounds? Also how is spying on your own citizens supposed to stop terrorism?
My mother uses a prepaid for personal and business use, and I'm planning to go prepaid at some point.razer17 said:
It's just a choice. The US government does not care about anything other than monitoring every citizen. It could care less about terrorism, at least against Everyman Joe. The moment it threatens their operations, oh boy do they care.
Well the US government have built up so much good will by now that they must be wondering why citizens aren't handing their first-borns in for lifetime protection. Especially the republicans, such bastions of care and understanding.
I think what he meant was that, unless, when purchasing a cellphone using one of those IDs, your purchase is logged into a unified database, there isn't much of a point.008Zulu said:
Moreover, what happens if you don't have either of those? You can't purchase a phone? That's equal parts stupid and silly.
Can phone calls from drop phones be traced back to the store that it was purchased, and if so - can be traced back to the individual who bought it? If yes, then I can totally see how this could limit crimes on both the local and federal level.
Will new legislation have to be introduced for giving away or selling phones, in the event said phone is used in a crime (and will said person be criminally liable for anything that transpired as a result of someone having an anonymous phone)? Will phone theft increase exponentially as a direct result of this bill?
It'll be up to the store to store said information, and will the government punish stores for not verifying ID? Will this lead to stores taking photocopies of ID's at the time of purchase to avoid any legal troubles? How long will they need to retain said information? Will photocopies of thousands of ID's in the hands of minimum wage employees lead to problems down the road?
These are the types of questions I would ask any lawmakers who wish to approve this bill. If they can't answer them, then they have no business voting on it.
Will new legislation have to be introduced for giving away or selling phones, in the event said phone is used in a crime (and will said person be criminally liable for anything that transpired as a result of someone having an anonymous phone)? Will phone theft increase exponentially as a direct result of this bill?
It'll be up to the store to store said information, and will the government punish stores for not verifying ID? Will this lead to stores taking photocopies of ID's at the time of purchase to avoid any legal troubles? How long will they need to retain said information? Will photocopies of thousands of ID's in the hands of minimum wage employees lead to problems down the road?
These are the types of questions I would ask any lawmakers who wish to approve this bill. If they can't answer them, then they have no business voting on it.
Short answer: The government expects its own citizens to be capable of terrorism. Ergo they spy on said citizens in the hopes of identifying and foiling terror plots in the making.canadamus_prime said:
On topic: It bothers me that this representative wants to use this bill to prevent acts of terror, drug trades and slavery when his time would be better spent crafting a bill to track Facebook users who post pics of firearms. Most of them go on to become school shooters, don't they? Go after those loonies, government!
Because freedom.008Zulu said:
Like, I don't have anything else to say. We already have claims of Orwellian measures, hints at Big Brother, and claims that this is solely to prevent anonymous communication.
My ex had bad credit and couldn't get a service contract. Her entire family used this kind of phone. I know a feww people who only have phones for emergencies, and they feel this is the more practical route. There are probably other reasons.razer17 said:
They log the information on the phone at point of sale, last I knew. And I think you have to in order to activate it.The Lizard King said:
My phone is prepaid, because $100/year for something I barely use fits my budget better than $40/month.razer17 said:
A parent, guardian or friend is allowed to register it for you. Just they have to accept all responsibility for how you use the phone.chadachada123 said:
We're still allowed the illusion of freedom, which is what we've been banging on about for 15 years.008Zulu said:
I'm certain affairs are one of the biggest things they care about. If they can gather that sort of blackmail material on everyone then they can use that info on anyone they want to if those people ever become political thorns in the governments side.razer17 said:
Someone plan on running for senator or congressman (or even President) to try to change the system, fight for world peace or save the environment? All the gov has to do is give the man a call and say "We got the phone recordings of you and your mistress. We'll send these recordings to your wife if you don't play ball with us." Then they have you. They own you for the rest of your life (or until you're no longer married and don't care if the info is released).
Because privacy is a fundamental right, including privacy of communication.008Zulu said:
How it should be.Bob_McMillan said:
Yes, they have the same amount of legitimate uses as a unsecure, registered phone but with the added benifit of another layer of privacy.razer17 said:
That's unfortunate. It looks like I will be unable to buy a phone if I were to ever move to Australia. I would refuse to identify myself on principal.008Zulu said: