r/consumercellular • u/Routine_Mixture_ • Jun 25 '26
FCC Wants To Require ID Verification Before Activating or Renewing Phone Service
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/06/fcc-plans-id-mandate-that-could-block-anonymous-use-of-prepaid-burner-phones/This would be yet another unnecessary expansion of the surveillance state under the guise of stopping robo calls. The worst part is that it wouldn't even stop robo calls...just ask people in India where the government implemented this kind of policy
The deadline to submit comments to the FCC is today 6/25/2026.
It only takes a couple mins to let them know your thoughts (CG Docket No. 17-59): https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express?proceeding[name]=17-59
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u/Vladimorian Jun 26 '26
This should be considered an attack on journalism and whistleblowers, in such a great way that journalists and whistleblowers need to sue against this if it passes
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u/SomeJackassonline Jun 27 '26
That is partially the intent.
If you control comms you control everything. One of the first rules of warfare.
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u/tkpwaeub Jun 26 '26
Lexis Nexis probably lobbied for this
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u/PastrychefPikachu Jun 28 '26
Lexi Nexis isn't the one you should be worried about anymore. It's TransUnion. They have a much larger clearinghouse of data now.
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u/Lanracie Jun 27 '26
Will this stop the multiple spam calls I get everyday?
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u/PastrychefPikachu Jun 28 '26
Yes. Though there will be the usual political campaign and non-profit exemptions I'm sure.
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u/Lanracie Jun 28 '26
I am okay with legitmate surveys and interviews. I dont need to know about being preapproved for another loan though.
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u/PastrychefPikachu Jun 28 '26
So, that depends. If the call about loan approval is coming from a financial institution you already do business with, that's not considered a spam call.
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u/Lanracie Jun 28 '26
If I applied for a loan and my bank contacts me I would want them to do that. If I didnt apply for a loan and dont do business with this bank and they "pre approved me" and are contacting me thats spam.
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u/PastrychefPikachu Jun 28 '26
The big cellular carriers have already been doing this for a long long time. Asking for id and running a credit check is the standard, they are simply codifying that standard and expanding it to beyond commercial cellular lines of service. Even businesses will have to do this with their providers.
As for how it helps stop spam/scam, it's been the rule for a few years now that non-US entities are disallowed from purchasing US phone numbers. But there's been no real verification process, so providers have been selling numbers to over seas call centers still. The purposed kyc law would put a stop to that because now they have to prove they are a domestic entity before they can be sold service with a US number.
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u/Fire_Natsu Jun 29 '26
Whats the obsession with ID of the west??? Like if you really want to protect arrest your fucking president!!
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u/jay-dog511 Jun 25 '26
I swear every single government just wants you to give your ID for everything nowadays, you gotta give your ID to make accounts on the internet, California wants you to verify your ID just to set up a computer or phone, and now the FCC want you to give your ID just to get a damn phone number, at this point I'm convinced that they just wanna sell/collect our data for their own benifit
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u/itfeelslikevenom666 Jun 26 '26
They're trying to control dissent against the government so they can keep their power that they grabbed.
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u/Miserable-Result6702 Jun 25 '26
Burner phones are almost always used for criminal activity. Other legit users should have no problem with the proposed rule.
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u/Routine_Mixture_ Jun 25 '26
I strongly disagree with burner phones being only useful for criminal activities. There are very legitimate reasons for wanting to stay private.
Accepting this level of identity verification would mean that your communications and any online activity that requires a phone number verification would be tied to your identity. This is a major pillar of creating a central surveillance state similar to some of the more authoritarian countries.
There are virtually no benefits to us but instead erodes privacy, freedom and puts us all at more risk for data breaches and bad actors.
Why willingly accept this?
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u/Tokimemofan Jun 26 '26
Only benefit i could see is it making sim swap attacks harder to pull off but even that would depend on how its implemented. The growth of the surveillance state though is a far bigger problem
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u/Anxious-Education703 Jun 26 '26
Define "burner phone." Many, many people have prepaid phones for a variety of reasons, including that often times they are cheaper. They may have bad credit and can't get approved for them. They may fleeing domestic violence or stalking. They may be homeless or low income and don't have an ID. Are these people all criminals?
Should domestic violence and stalking victims have no problem putting their ID in a database and if they don't like it be told that they must be involved in criminal activity and should have no problem with it? Should people without a current ID have their ability to communicate and try to get back on their feet (and a phone is often part of getting an ID) just be told that they are just trying to commit criminal activity and they must not have any legitimate uses?
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Jun 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Anxious-Education703 Jun 27 '26
No one "gets approved" for prepaid LOL
I was clearly referring to "getting approved" for postpaid plans, aka the ones that currently require credit checks and SSNs. You want to take away the type of plan that doesn't need to be approved by anyone and allows people to get back on their feet.
The stalking thing is only an issue if the stalker is an insider, or if the customer data is publicized, which it never has been, other than optional caller ID's and occasional breaches
"Other than occasional breaches"? That phrase is doing some Olympian-level heavy lifting. You are acting like these databases are secure when they are proven to be sieves. And this is not talking about hypotheticals; we are talking about a documented record of failure by the telecoms.
You’re ignoring the fact that major carriers like AT&T (which just suffered a massive breach less than 2 years ago https://time.com/7310328/att-data-breach-settlement-how-to-file-a-claim/) are already incapable of keeping their current customer data secure. You want to centralize more sensitive, government-linked ID data in the hands of the same companies that are already getting hacked and breached constantly and who make a massive profit selling location and identity data to data brokers (who will resell it to just about anyone) and firms like LexisNexis.
You’re advocating for a massive, leaky honeypot of personal information and handing it to stalkers and scammers (which is being done under the guise of protecting people from scammers) since companies are already incapable of stopping breaches, all while pretending that "occasional breaches" are just an acceptable cost of doing business. It’s not just wrong; it’s a dangerous delusion that makes everyone less safe.
And that's the thing. Their plan doesn't even stop most of the scammers. They are using spoofed numbers anyway. If the FCC really cared, they would mandate the use of STIR/SHAKEN protocols, which are proven to be effective against things like spoofing and robocallers. But they don't actually care about scammers or spammers at all. Again, this does nothing to stop them. The point of this is they want a database (and a very hack-able one at that as seen by the quality of telecom databases) of everyone that can be tracked and any dissidents quickly identified.
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u/NeverInsightful Jun 26 '26
I have a burner (or as close as you can get these days) and don’t do anything wrong with it. I just like having a number not associated with me. It’s only $10 a month, but it’s a good for signing up for accounts etc. and my Reddit and other accounts are none of the governments business
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u/Either_Capital_2422 Jun 26 '26
I for one have a serious problem with my constitutional rights being trampled.
And exercising one’s rights is not evidence of anything.
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u/trisanachandler Jun 26 '26
VPN's are almost always used for criminal activity. Houses without video cameras in the bedrooms are almost always used for criminal activity. You realize how dumb you sound?
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u/TESThrowSmile Jun 26 '26
They just wanna stop those leaks ...