• Going to England? To buy a cellphone? And are a terrorist? Bring a passport

    John Biggs

    Biggs is the East Coast Editor of TechCrunch. Biggs has written for the New York Times, InSync, USA Weekend, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Money and a number of other outlets on technology and wristwatches. He is the former editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.com and lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. You can Tweet him here and G+ him here. Email him directly at... → Learn More

    Sunday, October 19th, 2008

    In an enlightened effort to prevent terrorism, you may soon need a passport to buy a cellphone in the UK. The Times is reporting that officials are thinking of creating a register of prepaid phone purchasers.

    The pay-as-you-go phones are popular with criminals and terrorists because their anonymity shields their activities from the authorities. But they are also used by thousands of law-abiding citizens who wish to communicate in private.

    One loophole? You can pay cash and not show a passport. Another loophole? You can get a SIM card and cellphone from another country and make calls. Another loophole? You could use a pay phone. Security theater, friends. Security theater.

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