[marktwain]

“It amazes me that the U.S. still allows anonymous pre-paid cell phones. You have to register to activate any cell phone account here in Canada. It’s an obvious security hole — not to mention a boon to organized crime. Why is this?”

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It is also a great boon to privacy. We believe in keeping the government in check. Unlimited government is an unlimited disaster.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Both your answers are plausible.

Privacy is important — for keeping government in check, amongst other things.

However, I keep hearing how lax Canadian security is a threat to the U.S. (and there are a lot of valid concerns) — yet, we've got much tighter security regarding telecommunications. It just doesn't quite add up.

Phone records for land lines, and registered cell phones can be gotten by subpoena (for a good reason, presumably) — yet, anyone wanting to make unlimited anonymous calls just has to visit the local 7-11 and buy a disposable phone. To be consistent, it should be all or none.