Swedish Narcotics Police Demand Telephone Card Database

According to an article in the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet
<http://www.svd.se/svd/ettan/ettan_97-04-11/narkotikapolisen.html>,
the Stockholm narcotics police has asked the national police and
State Prosecutor to require that purchasers of a new telephone
card used for mobile telephones be registered, and that the police
have access to the purchaser database. "Since the card is purchased
anonymously, the owner cannot be determined, which makes wiretapping
impossible." The new card is pre-paid with 250 or 550 kroner (very
roughly $32 or $70) air time and a telephone number, but does not
require any other subscription. The card can be used on an ordinary
GSM mobile telephone "which can be borrowed or stolen" and can be
re-loaded when the air time runs out.

A similar card is in use in France. However, the French security
service made the government force the telephone company to require
that purchasers show an id card when tbey purchase the card.

Quickly translated and summarized by

Martin Minow minow@apple.com

Martin Minow wrote:
> 
> the Stockholm narcotics police has asked the national police and
> State Prosecutor to require that purchasers of a new telephone
> card used for mobile telephones be registered, and that the police
> have access to the purchaser database.
> 
> A similar card is in use in France. However, the French security
> service made the government force the telephone company to require
> that purchasers show an id card when tbey purchase the card.

  I smell a market here for enterpreneurs. I'm certain that there are
more than a few wino's sleeping better at night, having earned a little
extra cash by purchasing telephone cards for parties who require them.
  So a thousand customers will have to pay the inflated prices for the
cards as a result of the extra paperwork, in order that one alleged
criminal will also have to do so.

  I would like to see a study done that shows how many regular folk 
have had to engage in illegal activities in order to be able to 
afford all of the extra costs they face in their daily activities, 
in order for the authorities to 'catch criminals'.

  How about if we have Congress pass legislation that supplies 
drugs to users at a low cost, but requires them to steal a TV
in order to get the special price?
  Is this more ridiculous than keeping the prices of drugs 
artificially high and getting the same results?

  The up-side of laws making the spread of strong encryption  
illegal is that perhaps it will flood the jails and force the
authorities to release drug users.
  Of course, this may backfire, since drug users can become
dealers and make enough money to be able to afford strong 
crypto, no matter what the cost.
  
  I realize that I'm being silly, again, but maybe this twisted
trail of logic might get me an executive position in the legal
administrative system.
  (It has worked for others.)
-- 
Toto
"The Xenix Chainsaw Massacre"
http://bureau42.base.org/public/xenix/xenbody.html

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At 03:36 PM 4/11/97 -0700, Martin Minow wrote:
>According to an article in the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet
><http://www.svd.se/svd/ettan/ettan_97-04-11/narkotikapolisen.html>,
>the Stockholm narcotics police has asked the national police and
>State Prosecutor to require that purchasers of a new telephone
>card used for mobile telephones be registered, and that the police
>have access to the purchaser database. "Since the card is purchased
>anonymously, the owner cannot be determined, which makes wiretapping
>impossible." 

This week's Economist has an article on how the Italian national phone system
is making lots of money marketing GSM phones fed by cards that can be bought
for cash.  It expands the market for such phones.

I mentioned a few weeks ago, that Omnitel (a new PCS operator in the NYC
vicinity is selling (and heavily promoting) its no contract, no credit check,
card fed phone.  The phones and cards (after you buy the phone cards, you
call in the cards to an operator to add credit to the account) are available
all over the area.  The phone costs $99 (after rebate).

Yesterday, as I was walking past a Radio Shack, I noticed that they are also
selling a competing card fed PCS phone with the contradictory name of
Tracphone.

I love Capitalism.

It's easy to see why New York PCS operators would turn in this direction. 
They won expensive PCS franchises and have to spend big bucks to tower the
vicinity.  It would be nice for them if they could get an income stream to
help pay part of the interest.  But there's a problem.  Cellular providers
NYNEX/Bell Atlantic and AT&T are offering phones for $15/month which work
throughout the BOSWASH megaplex (and nationwide with roaming charges)
meanwhile the PCS vendors just cover NYC and Northern New Jersey.  They need
to offer something else.

The benefit of card fed phones to vendors is obvious.  Suddenly, the 20-40%
of the population that can't (or doesn't want to) qualify for a
credit-checked cellular account can just pony up the cash and walk out with
one.

A real privacy benefit as well.  If the authorities can't keep anonymous
people from getting accounts in such a regulated industry, it is hard to
imagine how they expect to bar anonymous accounts in an unregulated system
like the Net.

DCF

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