Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA, 14th) has gone too far with this one:

[Auggie]

House bill wants to crack down on prepaid 'burner' phones

A Californian lawmaker is pushing new legislation that would crack down on prepaid "burner phones," which she says are used by terrorists and other serious criminals.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA, 14th), who represents the San Francisco and the Bay Area district, introduced the legislation this week requiring prepaid phone retailers to collect information on the buyer at the time of purchase, such as their name, address, and date of birth.

The information would be verified by a credit card, or a Social Security number or driving license number -- mirroring similar obligations on those who sign up for a long-term phone contract.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/california-lawmaker-wants-to-crack-down-on-pre-paid-burner-phones/

Duplicate thread and discussion in GD: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027718410

I love Jackie, but this is over-the-top.

[noretreatnosurrender]

1. Yes She Has

I urge everyone to contact your representatives and tell them to Vote NO should this come up for a vote.

[ghostsinthemachine]

2. While I understand she is the poster child for the nanny state, I dont

See how this is such a bad thing. Please inform me of why if you would.
These phones are pretty much used by criminals and terrorists exclusively, so why not limit the availability to hide?

[saturnsring]

3. cause ya know freedumb

[madamesilverspurs]

4. I'm neither a criminal nor a terrorist.

My circumstances don't permit anything but one of the prepaid 'burner' phones, and there have been times when family members have paid for my minutes so that I can stay in touch. Why you think that makes me (and people in similar circumstances) dangerous is beyond me.

[ghostsinthemachine]

6. I've used them as well

And wouldn't have a problem if I had to give up my info. I do for my other phones.

[pandr32]

12. Exactly!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. you can't get a phone contract if you're homeless, if you are homeless you don't have an address

So no phones for them?

[ghostsinthemachine]

7. Obama phones.

I am homeless and have 2 phones, different numbers. Free talk and text. One is a smart phone, the other a blackberry clone.
Around here, Normal, they are giving them away at every light rail station, tra in station and some retail outlets.takes about two minutes.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. yea, my son has one of those Bush phones too

Big giveaway to a private corp. He's had so many problems with it that he had to go out and get a burner phone anyway, at least it works all the time.

[ghostsinthemachine]

10. One of mine is on Verizon network, the other

Net10. One never fails, the other barely works. Crap shoot.

[mackerel]

15. Why does everyone call them Obama phones?

The policy was around during the Bush era.

[ghostsinthemachine]

17. Why do people call the ACA Obamacare

Mostly cuz people know what you are talking about.

[mackerel]

18. ACA is new and created under Obama admin. So I'm cool with

people calling it Obamacare. Other things that get attached to him are done intentionally to make it look like the dems are give-aways especially Obama. When people in my real life call them Obama phones I always ask them what are they going to call them when Obama is out of office? We never called them Bush phones.

[Journeyman]

11. People trying to escape an abusive relationship will use non-traceable phones . . .

to set-up their new lives. To do so, they may need to contact people from their previous situation, perhaps even their abuser, and to be able to do this without fear of being traced is critical.

There's one reason. Neither criminal nor terrorist, just a scared person trying to better their life and the lives of their children. Why not facilitate their ability to hide?

[ghostsinthemachine]

13. But how does that happen?

I don't see how a person can get that info from a carrier. It is impossible. Not like that info is on a cloud that everyone can gleen information from.

[Journeyman]

14. Most the women I dealt with in similar situations were terrified of *everything* . . .

They were deathly afraid their spouses would find them and were at great pains to avoid anything that might give any indication of where they might be.

And whose to say contact information wouldn't be accessible from a phone carrier. Corporate America can't keep our credit card info secure, nor can they safeguard our Social Security numbers. Why should they be trusted with anything that may result in someone's death if disclosed?

[SunSeeker]

8. Meh. You have to give up a LOT more info with a regular phone contract.

Burner phones enable criminals. The inconvenience to us is minimal and the benefits to fighting criminal activity are huge. The benefits of the legislation far outweigh the burdens. Jackie Speier is doing the right thing, as usual.

[mackerel]

16. There really isn't much practical use for burner phones anymore

which is why they are mostly used for activities where they are easily discarded and by people that can afford
to discard them.