The FCC Wants to Eliminate Burner Phones

The FCC has proposed a rule that would require U.S. telecom providers to collect and retain detailed personal information for essentially all phone customers — including a government-issued ID number, physical address, and additional data for business/foreign accounts (e.g., intended use, IP address). Privacy and civil‑rights groups warn this would effectively eliminate anonymous “burner” phones, dramatically expand telecom data holdings, and enable broader surveillance and re‑identification. The change would increase cybersecurity risk by concentrating sensitive identity data at carriers (bre