FCC Collaborating with Law Enforcement to End Phone Theft

[Guest]

The FCC is collaborating with wireless carriers to stop mobile phone theft in its tracks.

FCC Collaborating with Law Enforcement to End Phone Theft : Read more

 

[memadmax]

This is why I use Tracfones only...
Not only are they cheap, but if I lose it, its no big deal.... and I'm not a slave to any system....

 

[one-shot]

This won't happen. I think the ACLU will have a few things to say about this.

 

[restatement3dofted]

[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]This won't happen. I think the ACLU will have a few things to say about this.[/citation]

What a thorough, well-reasoned legal analysis. A+.

 

[cheepstuff]

If personal identifiers were such a great idea, there would be no need for a legal mandate because consumers would be willing to buy a phone with one anyway.
I am not saying a mechanism like it is a bad idea, but legally forcing everybody with a phone to join a public database for their 'protection' will do more harm than good. The existence of the database means that tracking will have occur to keep track of active phones on the network. It tramples privacy, making it difficult for lawful citizens to maintain their anonymity unless they are willing to live under a rock.
A being a part of this should be a choice make by the user not the government.

 

[parasite057]

Riiight, they want to put tracking devices in every phone and all phone users into a centralized database "to stop phone theft".

 

[parasite057]

Sorry "individual identifiers", not tracking devices.

 

[parasite057]

lol, well I was joking...mostly...

 

[v3nom777]

[citation][nom]one-shot[/nom]This won't happen. I think the ACLU will have a few things to say about this.[/citation]

They already do it to cars. Next thing you know, when you buy a new phone, it's going to come with a title and a PIN number.

 

[speedemon]

Here we go.. The terrorist, er um i mean thief's are really messing things up.. Our tracking devices/monitors oh wait I meant "your phones"

 

[Guest]

Individual identifiers? They already exists and it's called IMEI.

 

[starcraftmazter]

Government wants to know and control everything about you. If a thief steals your phone, why are they going to care about some stupid identifier tempering law? Come on, how stupid do they think are are...

 

[CyBorG3132]

Doesn't IMEI already do this?

 

[awood28211]

How is this any different than how phones are already uniquely identified?

 

[freggo]

I don't see the problem.
You have 'personal identifiers' on your car both as a license plate and a VIN number.
I don't think the NSA is interested in tracking my whereabouts 🙂

 

[eddieroolz]

Guess I'm doing much better than the average, my phones have never been stolen and I've had 6.

 

[chuckchurch]

Like others have already noted, there are unique identifiers on phones, IMEI or the older (maybe still used?) ESN. Unless you have a way to re-write those, I can't imagine a stolen phone being useful. If I took a stolen phone into a Verizon store to get it 'activated', wouldn't they know right away it belongs to someone else, based on the IMEI number? Or do stolen smart phones just become someone's IPOD for just media playing, and never activate the phone?

 

[hoofhearted]

Ast stated by other posters, IMEI already exists for this. I think the real issue is getting the wireless carriers and law enforcment to utilize this to retrieve the phone from said theif.