This was on my list to read today.

On April 30, 2026, the FCC adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking stronger KYC rules for voice service providers. The agency says possible measures include requiring providers to verify customer identities before enabling service, including name, address, government ID, and alternate phone numbers.

Seems like major cell providers in the US already require a fair bit of KYC, but I have successfully purchased prepaid lines with cash in the last couple years -- and now they want to get rid of that.

The most chilling parts of the FCC’s proposal go beyond ordinary ID collection. In its section on risk-based KYC differences, the FCC even asks whether providers should consult lists of terrorists, terrorist organizations, and “criminal persons” maintained by law enforcement entities. We've also seen this before and such lists would surely lead to false positives, abuse of innocent people being opaquely added to said lists, and the possibility that people could be denied basic communication infrastructure without a conviction or meaningful due process. Even though the FCC frames this as a question rather than a final decision, it is a dangerous question for a communications regulator to normalize.

The proposal also contemplates long retention periods. The FCC asks about requiring providers to retain KYC information and supporting records for four years after the customer relationship ends. That means the risk does not end when someone cancels service. A person’s identifying information could remain in carrier databases for years, exposed to breach, misuse, subpoena, sale, or mission creep.

We are headed toward a world of kyc gated access to all basic infrastructure. I think it's sad, but I don't see how we avoid it. All the bureaucracy's -- governments and large corporations -- seem to believe they are better served by dragnet surveillance of the population. I don't see any large group with political power and desire to resist this. And the people are too busy flipping through tiktoks to care.