Re:The end of the level playing field
by djsumdog on Monday February 06, 2017 @01:31AM
(#13577033)
I remember getting a 3 sim card in the UK, going to erowid.org and getting a screen saying the site was blocked. If you wanted the block lifted, you'd have to go to a 3 store and present an ID to show you were over 18 (and I assume that ID would be forever associated with your account).
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Re:The end of the level playing field
by codedokode on Monday February 06, 2017 @02:13AM
(#13577250)
In many countries you cannot even buy a SIM card without providing an ID.
Welcome to India.
This is no issue with a VPN. My "real" number is registered with a VOIP provider, and I just buy a new SIM card from a vending machine at the airport with cash every so often. I'm not even trying to be particularly anonymous, it's just easy.
Re:The end of the level playing field
by mysticmarvel on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:15AM
(#13579114)
You'd also need to create new accounts for all your services each time, or any basic logging of access will trivially link your SIM, data provider's IP, your VPN, and your endpoint services. You only need to mess up once and your "anonymity" is compromised. In this instance it would be the IMEI of your phone, the tracking data used by advertisers and data miners to fingerprint your devices, and whatever services and accounts you use for email or social networking on your device.
Real anonymity is hard, and takes a level of paranoia not many can sustain without suffering mental health issues.