SIM card activation lock is required by phone carriers as a precondition to sell you the phone. You can create a bogus iTunes account by using gift cards and c

SIM card activation lock is required by phone carriers as a precondition to sell you the phone. You can create a bogus iTunes account by using gift cards and creating an anonymous account with that. At that point, yes the device is linked back to an account, but it's just as opaque as say, Reddit is. Beyond that, Apple doesn't even require you to sign into use the device. You can take photos and use Maps, and even surf the web all without any kind of account.