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I guess I'm just not sure where that path of thought is supposed to lead. Sure we can recognize that many countries require this today, but we don't have to accept it.

If we stop caring as soon as enough governments grab more power they'll just keep doing it. We don't have to overthrow the government for something as simple as ID requirements for a SIM card, we just need to stop using them when we don't accept the premise.

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Yeah, I assume that part of rejecting that would include not utilizing a chat service that requires one’s account to be tied to their government ID (phone number).

Right. Cell phones have become pervasive in many societies and it is expected that everyone has one st this point, but we can actually survive without them.

Granted that can be harder in some countries that, for example, use phones to pay for everything and don't use cash. That's just another example where people could have refused though, we can still survive without it even if life becomes less convenient.

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