Does This Really Pose a Security Threat?

A new threat to the nation’s safety arrives in stores this month, according to John Ashcroft, the attorney general of the United States. Anybody with 30 bucks soon will be able to buy a bit of technology that puts us all at risk, according to FBI Director Robert Mueller.

Is it Cup-o’-Pox, which lets you create a new disease by adding hot water? Nukeman, the pocket-size atomic weapon? E-Z-Bake Nerve Gas, recommended for ages 8 and up?

Nope. It’s the disposable cell phone.

That’s right, cell phones so cheap that people won’t care if they’re lost or stolen are arriving in stores this month courtesy of Hop-On Corp. of Garden Grove. And the government we have charged with keeping us safe is overwhelmed with fear.

To be fair, law enforcement has been struggling to keep up with advances in telecommunications for decades. Tapping a telephone used to be child’s play. Now, new digital technologies, voice transmissions over the Internet and cellular phones have complicated that task immeasurably.

The feds are pushing for new laws--in addition to those already passed since the Sept. 11 attacks--that would make it easier for them to monitor conversations by criminal suspects. But there’s resistance to the new requirements the Justice Department would like to impose on the legal and telecommunications infrastructure. Corporations don’t want to spend more money implementing such changes, and civil libertarians fear government agents would abuse the new capabilities.

Everybody involved has a good point. Eventually, the government will impose changes that probably will preserve the balance between law enforcement’s need for information and your desire for privacy.

In the meantime, everyone is searching for any leverage they can get. Hence the goofy attempt to hold up disposable phones as a threat to the republic.

Disposable cell phones can be purchased and used anonymously. People--including terrorists--can pay cash, communicate with each other and then grab a new phone, making it difficult for law enforcement to track criminal activity. Ashcroft and his lackeys contend that changes in the law are needed immediately because the new phones offer anonymous communication.

But nobody’s talking about installing retinal scanners at pay phones to eliminate anonymous calls. The Sept. 11 hijackers used equally anonymous telephone calling cards to communicate with each other.

Where anonymous calls are a problem--such as in drug-infested neighborhoods--pay phones are yanked out. But nobody is yanking out pay phones today because of the new terrorist threat. And nobody wants to force everybody to pay for a calling card with a credit card. How is making that same kind of call from a disposable phone any different? It’s not.

In terms of anonymity, disposable cell phones--which at the moment only let you dial out-- don’t let you do anything you can’t do with a pay phone, which is what Ashcroft and company are complaining about. But they do offer a new way of thinking about telecommunications by altering economic reality.

A cell phone that costs about $30 and comes with a limited amount of usable minutes offers a solution to a number of problems.

They’re perfect for your irresponsible teenager. Because they’re maintenance-free--you don’t have to keep charging the batteries--you can keep one in a purse or glove compartment. They make a great designated hitter if you’re worried your real cell will get damaged or lost. And there are no roaming or long-distance charges, saving some people money.

Several manufacturers will be rolling out disposable phones in the coming months, but Hop-On is first to market.

The phones aren’t supposed to be thrown away; you can mail them back to the home office for a $5 credit on your next purchase, said Hop-On Chief Executive Peter Michaels. They contain a lithium ion battery that’s designed to last a year, and they lack a keypad. You dial by speaking the number aloud through a combination earpiece/microphone.

Despite all the hand-wringing in Washington, Michaels said he never had any qualms about introducing the phones.

“As a matter of fact, nobody from the government ever contacted me about that,” he said. “There were never any discussions.”

That’s probably because there wasn’t any reason for them.