AFP reports:
U.S. lawmakers unveiled a bill Wednesday to enable law enforcement to identify users of pre-paid cell phones, charging that anonymity makes the devices attractive to terrorists, drug kingpins and gangs.
The legislation would require buyers of pre-paid cell phones to show identification when they purchase them and mandate that telephone companies keep the information on file as they do with subscription cell phones.
Read more in the Vancouver Sun.
Michael McAuliff of the NY Daily News also covers the story, commenting:
We suspect most people will like this measure, but the phone companies, libertarians, and immigrant groups may not be pleased.
Oh goody, here we go again with trading a leeetle bit — just a smidgeon — of privacy for security…. or so they’d have us believe.
Thanks to the reader who sent in the Vancouver Sun link.