Senators call for end to anonymous, prepaid cell phones

[JW Frogen]

Well there is much of my sex life derailed.

 

[Avatar4321]

Well there is much of my sex life derailed.

To be fair it doesn't sound like much of one.

jk bro

And no it's not a good idea. it wasnt a good idea in the other thread. still not.

 

[AVG-JOE]

I disagree. I can't think of why anyone would buy these unless they were up to no good. Just my 2 cents.

I agree with you, kiddo. If one has nothing to hide, one should be proud to show his / her ID.

If someone is point-blank against proving who they are, the valid assumption can be made that he / she is up to no good.

The only other thing required for a happy society is reasonable rules regarding what is or is not acceptable behavior.

 

[Valerie]

Cell phone service contracts already require name, address and social security number.

Land line phones are obviously tied to the address of the person they belong to.

Since the authorities have found these disposable cell phones are a weak link in identifying the terrorists who use them to plot our destruction, I don't see any problem with requiring ID to purchase these phones which are otherwise untraceable.

 

[Skull Pilot]

I disagree. I can't think of why anyone would buy these unless they were up to no good. Just my 2 cents.

Assumptions.

Why does the government have to know my cell phone number or even if I own cell phone?

 

[Skull Pilot]

Cell phone service contracts already require name, address and social security number.

Land line phones are obviously tied to the address of the person they belong to.

Since the authorities have found these disposable cell phones are a weak link in identifying the terrorists who use them to plot our destruction, I don't see any problem with requiring ID to purchase these phones which are otherwise untraceable.

So if the weal link to cracking terror plots was that the government didn't know who had explosives in their basement, it would be OK with you that the government search every house in the country?

 

[Valerie]

Cell phone service contracts already require name, address and social security number.

Land line phones are obviously tied to the address of the person they belong to.

Since the authorities have found these disposable cell phones are a weak link in identifying the terrorists who use them to plot our destruction, I don't see any problem with requiring ID to purchase these phones which are otherwise untraceable.

So if the weal link to cracking terror plots was that the government didn't know who had explosives in their basement, it would be OK with you that the government search every house in the country?

It's not that the government needs to know, just that the sale would be traceable if necessary...Available from service providers upon warrant.

 

[chanel]

That's quite a leap but if your neighbor is purchasing large amounts of explosives for no specific reason and storing them in his basement,wouldn't you want the cops to know? I would,

 

[Skull Pilot]

Cell phone service contracts already require name, address and social security number.

Land line phones are obviously tied to the address of the person they belong to.

Since the authorities have found these disposable cell phones are a weak link in identifying the terrorists who use them to plot our destruction, I don't see any problem with requiring ID to purchase these phones which are otherwise untraceable.

So if the weal link to cracking terror plots was that the government didn't know who had explosives in their basement, it would be OK with you that the government search every house in the country?

It's not that the government needs to know, just that the sale would be traceable if necessary...Available from service providers upon warrant.

If the government wants the records kept, the government will keep the records.

Are you really that naive?

 

[Valerie]

So if the weal link to cracking terror plots was that the government didn't know who had explosives in their basement, it would be OK with you that the government search every house in the country?

It's not that the government needs to know, just that the sale would be traceable if necessary...Available from service providers upon warrant.

If the government wants the records kept, the government will keep the records.

Are you really that naive?

How is it any different from phone records being available to law enforcement already?

 

[boedicca]

I said Democrat-Administration, not White House. There is clearly a partnership between the Democrats in Congress and the White House on many issues. It's highly unlikely that Schumer went rogue with this proposal.

Such dishonesty.

Speaking of hacks - Modmoron sees one each time he looks in the mirror (and likely scares himself).

We have an Democrat-Administration in the White House that wants to give the FCC control over the internet, has Google as a close crony, and now wants to destroy the privacy of cell phone calls.

Where is the Lefty outrage?

Spin time!

You are such a dim bulb. Who appoints the FCC Commissioners?

The FCC is directed by five commissioners appointed by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate for five-year terms, except when filling an unexpired term. The president designates one of the commissioners to serve as chairperson. Only three commissioners may be members of the same political party. None of them may have a financial interest in any FCC-related business.[27]
[edit]


If you think that the White House is completely disinterested in the powers of the FCC, I have some Pets.com shares to sell you.

 

[boedicca]

A bipartisan pair of Senate leaders have introduced a first-of-its-kind bill aimed at stopping terrorist suspects such as the would-be Times Square bomber from hiding their identities by using prepaid cellphones to plot their attacks.

The legislation sponsored by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) 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. The proposal would require the carriers to retain the data for 18 months after the phone's deactivation.

"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," Schumer said.

washingtonpost.com

Good idea?

hell no,, provide ID to buy a cell phone?? but we cannot ask our police to ask for ID from brown people?? you gotta be kidding me.

Or further, you must show your ID to buy a phone - but not TO VOTE?!?!?!?!

 

[boedicca]

Good Idea only if the Senators have to abide by it too!

Will it pass? If the Senators think about it, probably not, how could the make those clandestine rendezvous anonymously? I meam all the backroom deals and calls to the Professional Girls and Guys could be tracked

Won't work. Obama got a special top secret extra secure BlackBerry from RIMM. We should expect the government to be exempt from tracking for Security Purposes.

 

[Zoom-boing]

washingtonpost.com

Good idea?

hell no,, provide ID to buy a cell phone?? but we cannot ask our police to ask for ID from brown people?? you gotta be kidding me.

Or further, you must show your ID to buy a phone - but not TO VOTE?!?!?!?!

Isn't that just the most moronic thing? When we vote I just go up and say who I am, they look me up in 'the book' and I sign my name and that's it. They have no fucking clue if I am who I say I am or not.

 

[Valerie]

The phone provider saves a record of who uses his phone service.

It's private info only made available to law enforcement upon a probable cause warrant.

 

[boedicca]

And for Doggie The Bubble Mod's edumacationizinment benefit, here's the background of the current Chairman of the FCC:

He worked on the select committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair and for U.S. Representative (now Senator) Chuck Schumer.[4] He was Chief Counsel to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt, a position he left in 1996 to go into business.

...

For the Obama 2008 Presidential Campaign, Genachowski was Chairman of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications policy working group that created the Obama Technology and Innovation Plan.[6] He also advised and guided the Obama campaign’s innovative use of technology and the Internet for grassroots engagement and participation.

He co-led the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform Group for president-elect Barack Obama's presidential transition team.[7] On January 12, 2009, several news outlets reported that Genachowski would be President-Elect Obama's choice to head the Federal Communications Commission as Chairman. This was confirmed by a press release on March 3, 2009.[8]
[edit] Accomplishments as FCC chairman

Genachowski set a new tone for the agency when he promised to rein in companies restricting what people can do on their Internet lines.[9] In August, he surprised the tech industry when he demanded an explanation from Apple for its rejection of Google Voice.[9] Late in September, he argued for new rules to make sure Internet service providers obey the FCC's network neutrality principles.[9]


Julius Genachowski - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To think that the White House is completely hands off regarding the FCC and content to leave everything to Congress is nuts. (The Google meddling is an good example of cronyism - Eric Schmidt has a very close relationship with Obama).

 

[Gunny]

Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and John Cornyn (R-TX) joined forces and announced a new bill that would require an ID at the point of sale. Phone companies would need to keep this information on file in order to help police thwart "terrorists, drug lords and gang members," along with the occasional hedge fund manager.

Senators call for end to anonymous, prepaid cell phones

They really do use any excuse to chip away at our civil rights, don't they.

Agreed.

 

[goldcatt]

hell no,, provide ID to buy a cell phone?? but we cannot ask our police to ask for ID from brown people?? you gotta be kidding me.

Or further, you must show your ID to buy a phone - but not TO VOTE?!?!?!?!

Isn't that just the most moronic thing? When we vote I just go up and say who I am, they look me up in 'the book' and I sign my name and that's it. They have no fucking clue if I am who I say I am or not.

That book is supposed to have a copy of your signature from your voter registration, for which you had to provide proof of eligibility to vote. If the signature doesn't match, you should be challenged and given a provisional ballot. Whether the poll workers are doing their jobs is the question there, but there's nothing wrong with the system itself.

I'm against this stupid law, BTW. I don't particularly care why anybody would buy a throw away phone, although I can think of many reasons that have nothing to do with criminal activity. If the companies are willing to sell them anonymously, people should be allowed to purchase them that way.

 

[Valerie]

Speaking of hacks - Modmoron sees one each time he looks in the mirror (and likely scares himself).

We have an Democrat-Administration in the White House that wants to give the FCC control over the internet, has Google as a close crony, and now wants to destroy the privacy of cell phone calls.

Lovely.

Wait a minute. Do these two suddenly speak for the White House?

Perhaps you can show me in the article where Obama or anyone a part of the WH said they were waiting for this?

>

Feds push for tracking cell phones

February 11, 2010

Even though police are tapping into the locations of mobile phones thousands of times a year, the legal ground rules remain unclear, and federal privacy laws written a generation ago are ambiguous at best. On Friday, the first federal appeals court to consider the topic will hear oral arguments (PDF) in a case that could establish new standards for locating wireless devices.

In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.

Those claims have alarmed the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, which have opposed the Justice Department's request and plan to tell the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that Americans' privacy deserves more protection and judicial oversight than what the administration has proposed.
Feds push for tracking cell phones | Politics and Law - CNET News

 

[Valerie]

Here they are referring to phone call records without attaching names, just calls and locations...Numbers only. Then, if the numbers point to something, law enforcement can seek a probable cause warrant for info which shows who is connected to that phone, etc.

Cops Need Warrant for Cellphone Location Data, Judge Rules

September 11, 2008

The government appealed, arguing the records only reveal a phone’s location when it is actually used and that there’s no constitutional right to have these stored records protected.

"Wireless carriers regularly generate and retain the records at issue, and because these records provide only a very general indication of a user’s whereabouts at certain time in the past, the requested cell-site records do not implicate a Fourth Amendment privacy interest," the government wrote (.pdf).

Cops Need Warrant for Cellphone Location Data, Judge Rules | Threat Level | Wired.com

I don't disagree that there are 4th amendment privacy concerns, I just don't think requiring a credit card or ID with cash payment for disposable cell phone service is any different than other phone service requirements.