Thailand waters down alien-tracking plan Thailand has backed down on its plans to use phones as trackers for the location of resident aliens, but will press ahead with a plan to keep tabs on tourists. As we reported yesterday, the Kingdom floated a plan to force all visitors who sign up for local SIM cards to subject themselves to physical tracking. National security …
I would point out that insulting the President pis a punishable offence in many countries as well.
http://www.euronews.com/2016/04/15/beyond-a-joke-7-countries-where-is-it-a-criminal-offence-to-insult-a-head-of
Threatening POTUS is a crime, and if you are a foreigner could get you deported.
Just saying ...
Most European countries require you to hand over your ID (Passport in the case of foreigners) before they let you have a SIM anyway.
So the authorities can already ink SIMs to travellers.
It's not a great stretch to think they can access location details from their friendly local networks.
I've never heard of this. I've bought prepaid SIM cards several times in the UK and the Netherlands from various operators and I've never been asked to show ID (but then, maybe these two countries are exceptions?).
They are. Switzerland has had mandatory ID registration for years, and the trend is spreading. I think it's already law hat as of a certain date, the same will now happen in Belgium. No more anonymous PAYG SIMs - don't know the cut off date (not interested, I'll buy some in London instead :) ).
France & Spain for two...
France turned off all unregistered SIMs back in the early 00s.
You had to take in ID to keep them active.
Page 8&9 from this 2003 GSMA doc:
http://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/GSMA_White-Paper_Mandatory-Registration-of-Prepaid-SIM-Users_32pgWEBv3.pdf
Registration has been required in Thailand for many years. IIRC it was originally implemented back in the Thaksin Government days.
The "execution" of the registration might not have been optimal, but the requirement has been there for a long time. I suspect that the current government is merely tightening the implementation of the already existing law regarding registration.
As for the "tracking", well ....
It is the case in thailand, I just got back from a 3 month trip there a couple of weeks ago, had to hand over passport for SIM card.
Even though I signed up for the high end international roaming package with my regular phone calls were still 35 cents a minute.
I think the odd thing about this is that the Thai Government are making such a public display of it, if they were actually serious about it I'm sure they could just make it happen by making the Telcos cooperate without raising any hackles. It's almost as if they want the public to think they're doing something...
I recently travelled in 3 countries in Europe.
Neither Belgium nor the Netherlands require any ID to get or recharge a Lycamobile SIM
I went to a "GSM shop" in France and left with an activated Lycamobile SIM - the shop assistant wasn't interested in my ID. Recharge vouchers do not require any ID
"I went to a "GSM shop" in France and left with an activated Lycamobile SIM"
Do you mean this upstanding mobile provider?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/06/20/lycamobile_offices_raided_over_fraud_allegations/
It would be interesting to know if <<les services de renseignement>> are looking into them...
This doesn't make sense as most of us know. Any SIM, any phone can be tracked down (and is when the authorities require it) so forcing tourists to buy a special kind of SIM for this is absolute nonsense.
As for registration, it's been mandatory for quite some time in Thailand too. Anyone, Thai or foreigner has to show a valid ID that is scanned when buying the SIM card. SIMs that are sold where people don't have the necessary equipment to scan the ID are not active until this is done somewhere suitable (e.g. at operators' booths in shopping malls)
The Thai junta is spreading xenophobic feelings among their people like most dictators do, and this measure is made as a domestic PR campaign to show that the evil foreigners are being watched.
At best, this could be a way to force tourists to buy overpriced "tourist SIMs" to squeeze even more money from them.
The exact same people who are pushing this rule are also claiming that they are contemplating the imposition of a nationwide ban on Pokemon Go unless the game editor blacklists so-called "sensitive zones" by themselves.
Cambodia and Thailand have previously had restrictions on SIM purchases.
The solution was simple. Drop the hotel concierge $5 plus the cost of a SIM and in a few minutes you will have that magic chip. I do this every time I go to BKK to purchase specialised electronic supplies from Western distributors located in Thailand.
Some hotel workers must have thousands of SIMs attached to their names.
Well, I'm told that you can buy pre-registered SIMs for a nominal fee above their retail price at MBK Center too (big shopping mall in Bangkok, known for its numerous grey market mobile phone shops).
Likely to be registered to dead people or stolen ids.
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