The FCC Wants Your ID Before You Get a Phone Number (opens in new tab)

This is part of the same trend which requires ID to use social media, view adult content, or log into their own computer. The goal is to give government control of computers and communications.

spam/phishing/malicious calls do not come from individuals. How about they start with preventing caller ID spoofing/requiring proper caller ID?

the spam calls come from call farms that rotate numbers. they should be required to present a unified and verifiable caller ID

Phone systems can put whatever they want in caller ID, there should be verifiable reverse lookup to a valid registered number along with fines for violators

requiring an individuals ID to get a phone number is going to make the spam/phishing/malicious problem WORSE along with the enormous risks of that database being exposed/abused

The difference between say a think tank and an advocacy organization like "reclaimthenet.org" is a think tank hopefully feels obligated to think about, and pitch, a solution to the identified problem (spam calls).

Obviously reclaimthenet.org can post whatever they want on their site.

I'm curious about requiring all phone calls except to emergency services to cost a tenth of a cent. Or some amount that permits desired robocalling (prescription drug reminders for those not on the 'net) and excises spam calls.

You know the FCC is going to do this and still be completely unable to stop spam calls. You're going to get all of the drawbacks and none of the benefits.

I can understand the motivation. I've had the same number since the 90's and never once got a spam call until I was in the hospital last year and since then I've been getting 2-3 a day every day. They've probably left at least a thousand voice mails for a great loan opportunity, all from different numbers and different loan amounts.

This is the way it works in Australia. I wasn't a huge fan of having to prove who I am and have my identity related to be able to txt and make phone calls or use mobile internet when I moved here.

Instead of forcing people and businesses to do all the work, how about the government does all the work and manages the data, and lets people opt-in to the system.

Back when all phones were land lines were you able to get service connected without showing some identity? I honestly don't remember, and I had land lines at several addresses. I would assume they would want to ID the account owner in case they later had to collect, but they at least had the name you gave them, probably SSN or drivers license number too.

Since numbers can be spoofed what problem is this actually solving? None?

Does anyone imagine the government doesn’t already know who owns every phone number?

Also, couldn’t this system be optional, numbers that are ID-verified are somehow flagged so (assuming I choose) when one calls my phone knows to let it through and when an unverified number calls it doesn’t ring?

every thing happening right now in privacy space including OS level ID verification, then websites requiring ID and now this is strangely alarming

right to privacy and speech will soon be very limited in aspects only relating and possible offline and very soon there will be nothing one can do about that

As always, this will only affect those who either lack the knowledge or the resources to work around it. The innocent people always take the fall.

Will this finally get Signal to stop demanding phone numbers to register accounts?

Lots of services you'd rather have an anonymous account with (Google, Meta, Discord) are partially/fully mandating phone numbers as a spam mitigation strategy. Also this paves the way to internet connections/mobile internet requiring ID

So, we all go back to land lines for privacy?

Privacy has to be one goal among many in a reasonable society.

I am very glad to see this change, because phone-based Fraud is a plague on the Elderly and other vulnerable members of society. And an incredible annoyance even to a security conscious professional.

The guard against intrusive and oppressive government is the Bill of Rights, not some easy ability to get a phone number anonymously.

Already the case in most EU countries. I don't know if there is a commensurate robocaller problem.

Come to think of it, when I get an EU SIM, it does start getting robocalls... as soon as I give the number to some Big Legitimate Business that is supposed to be observing GDPR and whatnot.

Come to think of it, from what I know about this "mass surveillance" bullshit, robocallers being an inside job makes perfect sense.

Domestic abusers rejoice. Just hide the victim's ID and they won't get a phone.