You can use your regular phone and simply download an app that lets you use a separate, untraceable phone number.  How to they plan to restrict that?

Or will that be a useful little loophole for those of us who would prefer a little anonymity?

Terrorism is used as a farce to strip away the freedoms of the free.

I think the democratization of everything is a long term historical trend, and authorities and the 1% basically don't like this.  Just like flying and other luxury travel was once the province of the rich but is now available to the masses, encryption can now be available to the masses, too.

Apple will probably make their next iOS encrypted to the level where they can't crack it them selves, making who whole court order thing moot.  CIA and especially authoritarian regimes for sure don't want the masses to have this capability.  The next step for government is obviously to make the making of this kind of encryption illegal.

Gun rights people are fighting the wrong battle.  Government probably doesn't care as much if you have guns, because their real weapon is information.  The battle has moved on to another arena, and gun rights people are fighting the last war.  

A final point in the democratization of everything.  War used to be the province of state actors, now its is democratized, as there are tactics and weapons available to every man.  This, I think is the true import of terrorism.  Unfortunately this war-making  power is available to every crackpot and fringe group out there.  The only real solution to this, in my opinion, is to bring include everyone in our common development.  Its those who have been left out educationally, culturally and financially that seem to be the terrorists today.  

Been thinking about this for a while, and when the topic came up -- well that's the source of today's rant.  

Shouldn't surprise anyone.  
Unfortunately the criminal element has been using them for years for anonymity.  
Now terrorists are using them detonators.

This bill would close one of the most significant gaps in our ability to track and prevent acts of terror, drug trafficking, and modern-day slavery,” wrote Ms Speier

 
BULLSHIT!!

...rant over...

Everyone is outraged by things like this until they get to the ballot box. Then they vote the same Congressmen back in without knowing how they performed over the last term. How many of us know how our representatives voted for the AUMF, or the PATRIOT Act reauthorization?

If you can still buy time with cash at the local store I don't see how the existing phones would lose their anonymity unless they were all forced to get registered.

Love the comment about increasing the fake ID business.

Knee-jerk Legislation Should be a Crime Itself

According to the sponsoring Congresswoman:
“This bill would close one of the most significant gaps in our ability to track and prevent acts of terror, drug trafficking, and modern-day slavery,”

How would tracking help unless everyone is always tracked?
How would it prevent an act of terror vs altering the means?
How would it prevent drug trafficking?
How would it prevent slavery?  (why is the modern day qualifier necessary?)

Oh, that's right, we're not supposed to ask "how" questions since this bill is in the name of security.  I'm shocked she didn't trot out the old canard of "it's for the safety of the children" but I'm sure that's in the wings.

The most active period of international terror attacks against US interests was 1987-1991 according to the RAND Database of Worldwide Terrorism Incidents.  It's been declining ever since, but we have significantly greater media coverage.  It used to be that a great portion of the US citizenry would never learn of an attack unless someone they knew specifically mentioned it, now it's almost impossible to escape the 24-hour news state.

Will phones have a lock to prevent loaning out, or to keep stolen phones from working?  Would it be a crime to borrow someone else's phone?  If a burner phone is purchased in Canada with international roaming, will US Customs & Border Protection agents demand to know the owner before it's permitted entry?  Will phones be required to take a picture of the sender (maybe their ear print too) and embed that into the call data?

Hell, it's not like remote detonations occurred before cell phones, right?  Or that drug trafficking took place with any semblance of success, or that slavery was possible, all before portable phones.

Okay, off my soapbox for a breather.

"buying cheap phones or pre-paid SIMs could be one of the most important ways that terrorists are able to communicate, "

It's just more silliness from our government and there will be a million and one ways around it within 60 months -- and probably a 100 books with a titles along the lines of 1001 Ways...