Legal Commentary

Saturday Night Open Thread: More Privacy Threats

By Jeralyn

Another threat to our right to privacy is looming, courtesy of Sen. Charles Schumer who has teamed up with Republican John Cornyn.

What's it this time? He thinks people who buy pre-paid phones are either terrorists or drug dealers and has introduced a bill to prevent you from buying one without providing ID. And, the seller would have to keep your info for 18 months.

There are a lot of reasons to buy pre-paid phones. Reporters talking to sources, spouses who want some privacy, people with bad credit who can't get a contract.

Does anonymity have a legitimate social value? “There has to be a little bit of a safety valve for whistle-blowers and battered spouses who want to get off the grid,” said Jim Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a civil liberties organization.

What's next? We can't pay for things in cash without providing our names? I won't even answer a question about my zip code, let alone give my name, if I'm buying something with cash. Stores just want to get you in their database anyway they can.

And if you think law enforcement isn't looking at you, think again. [More...]

Among the names people in New York City have used when buying prepaid cellphones are Lady Gaga, King Kong, Sugar Love and Jesus Mom, according to investigators with the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor.

Did the investigators got those names from subpoenaing the records of a few suspected drug dealers? Or did they get ahold of the records for all phones sold by a particular store or stores?

The feds have no problem getting wiretap orders on pre-paid phones. I don't think it's slowed them down a bit. As soon as they tap X and hear him talking to Y about something they believe is code for drugs, they get a pen register and trap and trace for the number, pre-paid or not. They don't need a name. They refer to the phone user/subscriber as "fnu/lnu" (first name unknown, last name unknown.) Days or weeks later, they've figured out who it is and then tap the pre-paid phone. It's no more difficult to tap a cell phone or a pre-paid phone than it is a land line.

Bad Schumer.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

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Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 30, 2010 (boomark / email).