If you’re wondering what authoritarian technology futures look like, here’s an example from North Cyprus. This is a message from The Information Technologies and Communication Authority telling me I can use my device (IMEI number sent in the clear in the text) for 90 days without registering it (something I first encountered in Turkey years ago). Also note, they took a copy of my passport while buying the prepaid SIM card (something they also do in Belgium).
The dystopian future is now.
@aral in germany, you also need to show an ID to get a sim-card. This has been the case since july 2017 https://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/nachgehakt-Prepaid-Mobilfunkkarten-nur-noch-gegen-Ausweis-3757514.html
@humanetech @aral the idea of noting who I gave the copy to is a great one, though.