SIM Card registration bill approved

A PROPOSED LAW mandating the registration of all users of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards has hurdled final reading at the House of Representatives.

A total of 167 lawmakers have voted in favor of House Bill 7233 or the proposed “Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act, while only six voted against it.

The bill aims to help law enforcement agencies in tracking down lawless criminals who use mobile phones with SIM cards to pursue nefarious activities.

Under the bill, every public telecommunication entity (PTE) or direct seller shall require the end-user of a SIM card to present valid identification with photo to ascertain the latter’s identity.

End-users must provide the direct seller the following information: full name, date of birth, gender and address while foreign nationals must register their full name, passport number and address in the SIM card registration form.

All PTES are required to maintain a SIM Card registry of their subscribers and submit the list to the Department of Information and Communications Technology every six months.

The measure mandates all existing mobile phone subscribers with prepaid SIM cards to register with their respective PTE. Failure to register within the prescribed period shall authorize the PTE to automatically deactivate its services to the concerned prepaid SIM card subscriber.