Hello, SIM cards

By Alex P. Vidal

“To be happy in this world, first you need a cell phone and then you need an airplane. Then you’re truly wireless.”—Ted Turner

IF we go to the nearest T-Mobile (my current service provider) store anywhere in the United States today, we can easily purchase a pre-paid sim card for our mobile phones without being required to register our names, addresses, social security numbers, among other important identification information and details.

We can own two to three or even more unregistered pre-paid sim cards apart from our regular (the post paid) sim card that carries our “permanent” mobile number in the United States.

The “permanent” mobile number is essential because it can serve as our direct ID (aside from the official state ID) when we make online or on-the-spot transactions with the state and federal agencies, money remittances, health care clinics and hospitals, courts, bank transactions, among other important purposes.

In other words, a pre-paid sim card in the US doesn’t require a registration. Tourists and even unregistered aliens can own a pre-paid sim card without having to reveal their complete identities and other circumstances.

It’s in the post-paid sim card where we are obliged to be transparent about who we are and—believe it or not—how much we earn.

The tight system in the US, however, may discourage unscrupulous sim card users intending to use pre-paid sim cards to play monkey business or harass individuals.

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In the US, as well as in other advanced countries, no one escapes the mighty digital footprints; nobody is a Houdini in the world of visual and audio technology.

In 2010, our senator in New York, Chuck Schumer, introduced the Pre-Paid Mobile Device Identification Act or Senate bill 3427, a bill to institute an identification requirement for the purchase of pre-paid mobile devices.

Senate bill 3427 proposes to require sellers of prepaid wireless mobile devices and SIM cards to verify a purchaser’s full name, home address, and date of birth.

Acceptable identification documents for in-person sales would include a government-issued photo ID or two forms of alternate identification, such as recent W-2 forms or Social Security statements (Form 1099). For online or phone purchases, sellers could verify a customer’s identification information via credit/debit card numbers, Social Security number, or driver’s license number.

The seller would then be required to create a record of the sale and forward it to the wireless carrier, which would retain the information for 18 months.

The information to be retained includes the identification information, date of the sale, manufacturer name, wireless carrier, telephone/account number, and other technical information to identify the mobile device or SIM card, such as the international mobile subscriber identifier (IMSI).

Anyone selling mobile devices or SIM cards who is not an “authorized reseller” for a wireless carrier would face a fine and up to a year in jail.

In prior years, bills have been introduced in several U.S. states but none have been passed into law. In fact, as of today, only a South Carolina bill covering devices used to originate voice calls appears to remain pending.

It reportedly “died” in the 111^th Congress.

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The best moment and proper venue to oppose the SIM Card Registration Act in the Philippines was during the public hearing in the committee level and when lawmakers in both the Lower and Upper Houses were still debating it.

Everything is now water under the bridge in as far as the controversy that surrounded the subject matter now that it has been passed by both houses of Congress in September after a controversial provision requiring social media users to register their real names and phones numbers was dropped.

Now that President Ferdinand “Bongbong”Marcos Jr. has signed it into law, it’s up for implementation and there’s nothing opposition of that law can do now.

To repel it, it must undergo a series of legislative initiatives, which is still far-fetched at this time and will only be possible if it will be proven to be inimical to the interest of the public.

Whether it is coercive or a threat to the privacy of individuals as claimed by those who opposed it remains to be seen.

As of today, the legality and effectivity of the SIM Card law is moot and academic. It will now serve as a regulation primarily aimed at combating text messaging fraud.

Many mobile phone users in the Philippines use pre-paid SIM cards that they buy over the counter without giving their names and addresses to providers.

Under the new law, they will have to show photo identification and complete a registration form with their personal details, which will be kept by the mobile service provider.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)