A BILL that will require the registration of subscriber-identity-module (SIM) cards needs to ensure that privacy of mobile-phone users is protected, an information technology researcher said Tuesday.
“We need to ensure that the data privacy of subscribers is protected, and we do need to take into consideration that everyone has the right to freedom of expression and flow of information and communication,” said Grace Mirandilla-Santos, an independent ICT policy researcher, during the 10th Arangkada Philippines Forum 2021.
The House of Representatives approved House Bill 5793 or the SIM Card Registration Act on third and final reading Monday.
Users should not have to “expose unnecessarily data that he or she does not want to (expose) just because a law is saying that the person needs to provide personal information,” she added.
Roy Cecil D. Ibay, vice-president of the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunications Operators, said in a statement Monday that the policy will help reduce the practice of phone fraud known as smishing while boosting e-commerce adoption and growth.
Section 8 of the proposed measure states that any information in the SIM card should be treated “as absolutely confidential,” unless access to it has been permitted by the subscriber.
It also states that the waiver of absolute confidentially should not be made a condition for the approval of subscription agreements.
Public telecommunications entities will be required to disclose the full name and address of a subscriber “upon a duly issued subpoena or order of a court upon finding of probable cause, or upon written request from a law enforcement agency in relation to an ongoing investigation.”
Mr. Ibay said the bill should also “ensure safeguards that will not unduly displace prepaid subscribers by giving a sufficient SIM registration period and ensuring that the wide adoption or use of the national ID is already in place.”
John Garrity, chief of party at USAID Better Access and Connectivity Project, said at the forum that the problem of smishing attacks requires a multi-stakeholder approach.
Smishing uses text messages to trick mobile-phone users into visiting malicious websites and reveal personal information.
“The number and nature of attacks that are occurring, I think all of us have been experiencing these smishing attacks on our phones, all of these issues really call for a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral approach to building up cybersafe practices among the entire population,” he said. — Arjay L. Balinbin
