FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones By Forcing Telecoms to Get All Customers’ IDs

▤ Summary

The FCC is proposing rules that would require telecoms to collect and retain more identity data from phone customers. The change would make it much harder to buy anonymous or hard-to-trace mobile service, including so-called burner phones. Privacy advocates say the plan could increase surveillance risk and create major cybersecurity and civil liberties concerns. The proposal also affects business and foreign customers by expanding the information carriers must gather. For telecom software and compliance vendors, the rule could drive new needs around identity verification, customer data handling, storage, and audit controls.

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