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by sn0opy 3042 days ago
Best guess is that it is similar to Germany. In Germany, there are no anonymous prepaid SIM cards anymore. They're now registered to your name.

Thus, in theory, the gov has access to it too.

2 comments

I wonder if there would be interest in sim swap parties. This is an idea I had with Oyster cards in London where you get together and swap Oyster cards with other people to confound the profile building.
I suppose a problem with that might be if someone who takes your SIM does something illegal with it. Then you are on the hook for it.
> Then you are on the hook for it.

This is a myth. If you didn't commit a crime, you aren't on the hook for it. For example: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/08/publi...

You might, however, get investigated (search warrant etc) because unless such mixing becomes really common, it's reasonable for the authorities to suspect you for the crime in the first instance.

Edit: perhaps a better example is https://torrentfreak.com/eu-court-open-wifi-operator-not-lia...

This is a myth. If you didn't commit a crime, you aren't on the hook for it.

This is a nice theory. In Germany, if you are the owner of a SIM card associated with a crime, it is well possible that a prosecutor will consider this sufficient for a warrant, and the police will visit you early in the morning, taking away all your digital devices for something between three months and some years.

Regarding the Wi-Fi hotspot examples you provided (which are not quite the same), in Germany there is a nice legal construct called the "Störerhaftung" (liability for interference), in which you have a civil liability for e.g. copyright violation commited over your uplink.

(IANAL)

> This is a nice theory. In Germany, if you are the owner of a SIM card associated with a crime, it is well possible that a prosecutor will consider this sufficient for a warrant, and the police will visit you early in the morning, taking away all your digital devices for something between three months and some years.

Like I already said: just because you aren't already on the hook for it doesn't mean that you won't be legitimately suspected of the crime in the first instance.

That's not "biometric." I assumed the OP had something in mind more specific.
In India, all SIM cards have to be linked to Aadhar card , which is a unique identifier of a person with biometrics attached
Thanks. The wikipedia article on Aadhar card looks like a deep dive...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aadhaar

And if you are a foreigner the SIM linked to your passport, which is linked to your fingerprints that they take upon immigration.