SIM card registration as a global practice

Cellphones or smartphones are one of the technologies most of us use throughout the day, from the moment we wake up until we sleep. This rectangular block or pad of screen has enabled us not just to communicate, but also to work, shop, transact, and amuse ourselves within the tap of our fingers. Such tasks are made possible not just by the in-built technologies in every phone, but also by a tiny physical card, the subscriber identity module card, more known as the SIM card.

However, this small chip can lead users to be victimized by scams, frauds, and other cyberattacks, which gave rise to the demand for registering SIM cards before they can be fully used for texts, calls, and mobile data, to name a few.

The Department of Justice’s Office of Cybercrime, for instance, found that last year the amount of scam texts Filipinos have been receiving was increasing, alongside reports on cybercrimes made through mobile texts and calls.

“In fact, our Office of Cybercrime has received a total of 4,899 reports of harassment or unlawful debt collection from online lending companies for the years 2020 up to December 2022, wherein the harassment was usually done through mobile phone calls and SMS,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla said in a statement.

In order to fight such increasing cybercrime and protect Filipinos’ personal data and information, the Philippine government has implemented the SIM Registration Act, where users are required to register their SIM cards.

After being signed by the President signed last Oct. 10 and becoming effective since last Dec. 27, the SIM Registration Act now requires users to register their existing SIM card within the next 180 days, while new SIM cards cannot be used unless they are registered.

According to virtual private network (VPN) service ExpressVPN, SIM card registration is significant in preventing illegal activities, including fraud and identity theft. Yet, it still imposes certain concerns among people, for instance the disappearance of anonymity and breach of data privacy.

Atlas VPN, another VPN service company, noted that SIM card registration allows telecommunication companies to collect and store information about SIM card users. Also, the personal information of SIM card users can be shared with governmental organizations if necessary, and users can also be verified within the government database. With this, SIM card registration systems are expected to reduce fraud and make it easier to identify such crimes and their criminals.

According to the Access to Mobile Services and Proof of Identity report by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) in 2021, there are 157 countries (not yet including the Philippines) where mandatory prepaid SIM registration policies are in place.

The SIM card registration basically requires users to provide personal information, including their full names, home addresses, national identification (ID) numbers, or even photographs.

According to GSMA, as of early 2021, 93% of prepaid SIM cards are in countries where proof of identity is required for mandatory SIM registration.

“Proof of identity allows an individual to have a SIM card registered in their own name and, particularly for the underserved, to have access to a plethora of empowering mobile services,” noted the association in its report.

According to ExpressVPN countries like Australia, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Myanmar, Nepal, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay, SIM card registration requires ID cards, including a driver’s license, passport or other valid government-issued ID cards. The registration will also ask the users to provide the necessary information, like the users’ full name, birth date, address, or even their gender.

Some countries also apply biometrics, where the users’ fingerprint or face scans will be used as a form of verification and authentication. According to identity-oriented website Identity Week, biometric registration legislation currently exists in countries such as: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Pakistan, Peru, Saudi Arabia, China, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, and United Arab Emirates. In addition, Mexico authorized the use of biometrics registration for mobile phone subscribers in 2021.

According to biometrics software and services company Aware, stronger authentication methods are made possible by biometric technology, consisting of human body measurements and calculations and quickly taking hold across industries, especially in business enterprises. In addition, biometrics is considered a safer identity verification method. Biometrics can be used as an alternative to identification cards in some countries.

For instance, Mobile Telecommunication Company (MTC) in Namibia has been using a biometric system as a safety measure to register their SIM card users. According to MTC Chief Human Capital and Corporate Affairs Officer Tim Ekandjo, in addition to the requirement of asking the users to provide their basic information, they also incorporated biometric data, where the users’ fingerprint and facial recognition will be used. Despite the criticisms, the company insisted that biometric data is essential in order to generate the digital identity of the users for added safety protocols.

“This information is safely stored on our cloud, and our requirement for this information is in line with the draft Namibia Data Protection Bill, and it adheres to the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the AU Convention on cybercrime and data. It is also important to note that we already have so many companies taking customers’ biometric data, so this is nothing new, and most of our costumers appreciate the fact that we have gone the extra mile to protect them from cybercrime,” he was quoted as saying in a report from BiometricUpdate.com of market research supplier and consultancy Biometrics Research Group, Inc.

While other countries implemented SIM registration as a prerequisite, countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, New Zealand and Serbia do not require the registration of SIM cards. — A.K.S. Brillantes