Anybody who ever watched “The Wire” or read a 21st century thriller probably has a pretty good idea of how a pre-paid wireless phone works.

You find a convenience store (preferably one with its video surveillance camera out of commission), plunk down some cash and walk out with a phone, a phone number and a stash of minutes.

Burn through the minutes and toss the phone in the trash.

No need to rinse, repeat.

Some lawmakers think electronic communication shouldn’t be quite so simple  and anonymous.

That’s because in almost all cases, the person buying the pre-paid phone — a.k.a. a  “burner” — doesn’t have to give up any identifying info to get one.

Popular with drug dealers, terrorists and corporate/government whistle blowers, burners have become a way of modern life. Their power can be used for good or evil. Often, it’s the latter.

But occasionally, they can be used to expose crime, abuse or espionage.

And that’s becoming the rub. Privacy advocates believe there should be a way of anonymous communication. Many law enforcement folks don’t.

They both have a point.

Some argue that criminals will find a way to produce phony identification that can be used to buy a pre-paid phone. The same has been said for years about gun control laws — when owning a gun becomes a crime, only the criminals will have guns.

The theory opens a whole new range of industries for law-breakers — fake drivers’ licenses, passports and social security cards will flood the free markets.

There will also be the added cost of enforcing such laws and the question of how cash-strapped municipal and state governments will afford to oversee the process of tracking who’s using what numbers.

For the mobile phone industry, there will be the costs, processes and personnel involved.

How do you put a price on privacy and on security? Where technology is concerned, that may soon be the question as lawmakers in the U.S. Senate begin debate on the issue.

The unintended consequences of good intentions might be something they need to consider.

By the way, there’s one good sign about this pending legislation: It’s been introduced by a Democrat (Charles E. Schumer of  New York)  and a Republican (John Cornyn of Texas). So when at least we’ve found one topic that the two parties will work together on.

Tags: burner, cell phone, cellphones, Charles E. Schumer, John Cornyn, law, legislation, senators, U.S. Senate