`The law on SIM card registration is timely as it is necessary, as the ongoing pandemic has forced many citizens to use cellphones and the internet more and more for virtual transactions, and everybody must be protected from cybercriminals.’
BY early next year, we may hopefully see another major change in the way we communicate with each other using cellphones.
This is because Senate Bill 2395, the bill mandating the registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, has passed third and final reading in the Senate. The senators said the SIM Card Registration Act was filed to deter scams committed via mobile phone by allowing law enforcement agencies to track criminals using the cellphone network.
A week earlier, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 5793, its version of the same measure.
Both bills mandate every public telecommunications entity (PTE) or direct sellers to require buyers or existing owners of SIM cards to present a valid identification with photo and accomplish a control-numbered registration form. The registration of SIM cards will be made a requirement for the sale.
Under the proposed measure, all current SIM card subscribers with active services are to register with their respective Public Telecommunications Entities (PTEs) within a year following the signing of the new law.
Experts and stakeholders in the telecom industry believe that the registration law will boost e-commerce and financial technology (fintech) growth in the country, restricting criminal and fraudulent acts using mobile SIM cards.
The forthcoming SIM card registration procedure will discourage fraud and scams because mobile numbers will be officially associated with the subscribers, much like license plates and the registered car owners. Criminals will have to think twice before using their cellphones to commit felonies. Forensic tracing would be easier and most likely they will be arrested.
The measure says failure to register means that the account will be deactivated and the number retired. Failure by a PTE or a third-party reseller to comply with the registration requirements will result in fines of P100,000 and P10,000 respectively.
The law on SIM card registration is timely as it is necessary, as the ongoing pandemic has forced many citizens to use cellphones and the internet more and more for virtual transactions, and everybody must be protected from cybercriminals.
