My point exactly. The fact of the matter is that prepaid phone use (much like encryption) is used by people for pretty banal purposes: they want to make sure t

My point exactly. The fact of the matter is that prepaid phone use (much like encryption) is used by people for pretty banal purposes: they want to make sure that their private life stays private. Maybe they are carrying on an illicit affair. Maybe they are running a side business their employer wouldn't approve of. Whatever the reason, people have a certain right to privacy. The burden isn't on US to demonstrate why we need privacy. The burden is on the GOVERNMENT to demonstrate why they need to pull back the curtain on someone else's privacy to further a legitimate government interest. That's the crux of every argument opposing the government keeping records (or forcing the record-keeping by business) on everything a person does in the course of their life. The VAST majority of prepaid phone use is legitimate and non-controversial. Why burden all of those uses with a specious need to identify themselves when conducting perfectly legal business? You don't need an ID to buy a hammer or a knife. Why should you need one to buy a phone?