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Comment on Since the government can theoretically access the location of everyone's phone, wouldn't it be unsafe for an undocumented immigrant to have a phone?

adespoton@lemmy.ca ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

The big thing is whether people are behaving in a manner that brings them to the attention of the government.

It’s not like you have to give your SSN to a carrier to get a phone; the government needs a reason to be tracking you.

Now, they very much could put in a warrant for all phones crossing the border at unusual times/locations. But someone who snuck in with family and is working cash-only jobs to get by is unlikely to get tagged by the government unless they’re going somewhere or doing something the government is already watching.

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leadore@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

It’s not like you have to give your SSN to a carrier to get a phone

Actually it is like that, if you are getting any kind of deal where you’re paying off the phone with your service plan and/or commit to a term contract. They use it to run a credit check on you. Most companies where you’re committing to a length of service do this. It happened to me when I was going to get some kind of cable or internet service one time, where you got x number of months free if you promised to keep the plan for two years. They asked for my SSN and I refused, so they wouldn’t complete the transaction. That’s how I found out about why they want your SSN.

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