Presenting your passport and signing up to a national database could soon become essential when purchasing a new mobile phone.
According to reports out this week the British government have drawn up plans that, if instated, would make it impossible to purchase a mobile phone in the UK without providing proof of your identity.
In what has emerged as the latest clause rumored to be set out in on the controversial Data Communications Bill, a passport, photo driving licence or other form of identification confirming your name and address would need to be presented at the time of purchase. New mobile phone owners would also have to sign up to a national database as part of the scheme.
The proposals represent part of the governments multi-pronged ‘Big Brother’ style crack down on crime that will also see records of all UK phone calls, text messages and online activity monitored and stored by the national surveillance body situated at GCHQ.
Specifically, this new scheme is designed to target the 40 million individuals who use an unregistered pay-as-you-go-mobile.
At the present time, purchasing a prepay mobile phone with cash ensures anonymity for the user as no details are taken at the time of sale. For this reason, prepay mobiles have become the contact method of choice for criminal and terrorist networks to use when liaising under the eyes and ears of the law.
It is hoped that by forming a registered network of pay-as-you-go users it will be easier for relevant authorities to identify and locate individuals involved in anything illegal and untoward.
Reports suggest that GCHQ have been granted funding worth £1billion to pilot the scheme. While major mobile phone networks operating in the UK are also said to be preparing contingency plans should these proposals be given the green light.
However, if speculation is to be believed, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has delayed announcing these plans to the public after receiving negative feedback from peers in the Home Office. A memo, leaked over the weekend, suggested that the general consensus among Home Office officials was that the new plans were "impractical, disproportionate, politically unattractive and possibly unlawful from a human rights perspective".
As a result the government have yet to confirm the proposals, simply stating:
"The communications revolution has been rapid in this country and because of changes in technology the way in which we collect communications data needs to change too. If it does not we will lose this vital capability that we currently have and that we all take for granted in fighting and solving crime."
However, a spokesperson for Richard Thomas, Information Commissioner, commented:
"With regards to the database that would contain details of all mobile users, including pay-as-you-go, we would expect that this information would be included in the database proposed in the draft Communications Data Bill," - suggesting that there is some substance to the rumours.
As with many of the proposals set out in the Data Communications Bill, there are many questions that will need to be answered before this proposal will be accepted by the public. To begin with there is the issue of whether state surveillance of this nature is really necessary, how exactly individuals without any acceptable identification will go about purchasing a mobile phone and what happens when a prepay mobile phone is stolen, not to mention the governments already shaky history of protecting personal data.
However, it is also questionable how effective these measures would be in cracking down on criminal activity. Surely forcing all prepay mobile users to register their details would simply result in a black market for prepay SIM cards and encourage those who are acting with criminal intent to use fake ID or overseas mobile phones instead. All the while making life more awkward for the mobile phone users who do operate inside the law.
Whether the Home Office decide that the public uproar likely to result from such proposals is worth absorbing for the nation's security will remain to be seen.
