Should Cell Phone Numbers Be Protected Like SSNs?

The cell phone number, though it is not legally protected like the Social Security number, is becoming increasingly linked to private information that is being used by companies, money lenders and social networks to monitor individuals. The cell phone number has become “kind of a key into the room of your life and information about you,” Edward M. Stroz, a former high-tech crime agent for the F.B.I. and co-president of private investigation firm Stroz Friedberg, told the New York Times. In fact, investigators have found that a cellphone number is often even more useful than an SSN because it is tied to so many databases and is connected to a device that users always carry with them. Despite our increasing reliance on the cell phone number, and the fact that it is one of two numbers that many younger Americans will carry with them for life, companies are not required to keep it private, like an SSN.