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So I’m this threat model the government knows your phone number, suspects you’ve been communicating with others, and beats a confession out of you… Why is the phone number being used in a chat app significant?

They can still beat you with a wrench to divulge your information even if it’s on Matrix or even pen and paper.

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>They can still beat you with a wrench to divulge your information even if it’s on Matrix or even pen and paper.

this does not scale as easily. sure if you are an actual target, your goose is probably cooked anyway but what about the masses? i am just saying, what we call "mass surveilance" and wrench beating dont go hand in hand. mobile number helps them in mass surveilance which can give them more leads.

if that limb is removed, they can still do it but it is a bit harder so the hope is they will focus their time on only serious cases as opposed to everyone willy nilly because it is just so easy

because in a civilized country you won't get beaten, but your phone number can be used to verify that you do have an account on a service which you can then be forced to reveal the contents off.

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