PrePaid Cell Phones

PrePaid cell phones have gotten a lot of discussion in our class. There are both positive and negative aspects of them and about privacy issues. The majority of prepaid cell phone users use them to be anonymous and stay hidden. This is what we talked about in class that if someone wanted to or needed to stay hidden and untraceable this type of phone would come in handy, but that's where the downfall of them comes to play. No one wants criminals to avoid the government finding them and staying hidden, and who knows how many actually do this, but it's not something we really hear about so I don't think it's an issue (for now at least). There are also good reasons people use prepaid cell phones too. This type of phone is cheaper than buying a normal cell phone and easier than having to deal with companies and making a plan and all that and it's also a good starter phone for kids who get one for emergencies only. When I was in 8th grade my friends and I had all gotten our first cell phone except our one friend, so for her birthday we all pitched in and bought her one of the prepaid phones, it wasn't for her to not be tracked, it was so we can communicate. I don't think the government should be able to control prepaid phones and have them registered for them to be tracked, maybe in the future it will become an issue of criminals using them for bad, and they will decide to do this, but for now I don't think it is. And I also think this notion by the law will be coming soon because they are nosy and probably don't like the fact there some people they can't track.