Philippines’ crackdown on anonymous SIM cards prompts backlash

Manila, Philippines – Like millions of other Filipinos, 18-year-old John Aguilar missed the government’s April 26 deadline to register his cell phone under his own name.

Aguilar is also unsure if he will meet the extended July 26 deadline.

“I have no ID and I don’t know how [to register]Aguilar told Al Jazeera.

Aguilar said he and his older brother tried to get ID from their barangay, or village, but were denied after they failed to provide proof of their voting record in last year’s presidential election.

Manila requires all SIM card holders to register their names under the SIM Card Registration Act that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law last year with the stated goal of thwarting cybercriminals responsible for fraud, trolling and hate speech.

But the government’s efforts are proving fraught in a country where it’s not uncommon to miss officially recognized IDs.

In April, Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy reluctantly extended the registration deadline while targeting “stubborn” Filipinos who were slow to register.

Uy threatened those who disagreed with being cut off from social media sites like Facebook and TikTok, saying, “Sometimes, you know, that’s the only language some of our compatriots can understand.”

Last week, Uy announced that 95 million SIM cards had already been registered, leaving only five million to sign up. The DICT estimates that while there are 168 million SIM cards in circulation, only about 100 million are active. Uy did not respond to a request for comment.

Last year, Globe Telecom, the Philippines’ largest telecom provider, said it blocked 2.72 billion text messages containing spam and malicious links.

Marcos praised the SIM card registration law as a tool for law enforcement agencies “to solve crimes committed with the use of these SIM cards. [and] a strong deterrent against committing misconduct”.

While the stated purpose of the legislation is to curb cybercrime, including fraud, trolling and hate speech, some cybersecurity experts have warned that it could actually lead to more identity theft and fraud.

While Marcos has pledged to protect mobile phone users’ data during registration and the ensuing massive data collection, the government has recently relaxed the rules for acquiring IDs and registration to meet the login target, causing alarm among some cybersecurity experts.

Last month, Uy said he saw nothing wrong with SIM card vendors assisting registrants for a small fee.

Some Filipinos have reported being able to register without documents proving their identity.

Dennis, a street vendor in Manila, told Al Jazeera that last month he was able to get his hands on barangay ID without papers — no questions asked. He then asked someone to help him register his SIM card.

Dominic Vincent Ligot, a social entrepreneur and technologist, said that because “ID verification is not solid, identities can be obtained and a black market has now formed in response to the regulation” of SIM cards.

Ligot, founder and executive director of Data Ethics PH, a group that advocates for the ethical use of data and technology, noted that police arrested a Chinese businessman and his Filipino companion last month for allegedly selling pre-registered SIM cards for up to 2,500 pesos. ($45) each, more than 50 times the normal price of an unregistered SIM card.

GMA News quoted Police Brigadier General Kirby John Kraft as saying, “This is scary because these could end up in the hands of criminals.”
Ligot said the SIM registration law could cause other problems.

“In the case of identity theft, the need for SIM registration may actually increase the incidence of this as there is pressure from illegal agents to obtain registered identities,” he said.

Section 11 of the law also authorizes law enforcement to impersonate a registered SIM user as part of their “authorized activities,” a provision that Ligot says is open to abuse.

The vagueness of the provision, particularly about who is responsible, could lead to abuse, Ligot said.

“Lots of bad things can be done by counterfeiting a SIM card, such as intercepting SMS, giving the spoofer access to one-time passwords [OTPs]which may allow access to e-bank account transactions, account password resets, etc.

Jamael Jacob, a lawyer specializing in cyber law, said Uy’s suggestion that retailers be able to register users for a fee is dangerous because they could “register other SIM cards and then sell them to other people who want to exclude their identities or at least to keep hidden.” the registration system – like criminals for example”.

“The National Telecommunications Commission and the telcos have been warning people over the past few months about scammers pretending to help people trying to register their SIM cards,” Jacob told Al Jazeera. “In the same breath, they emphasized that the registration process is free.”

“Now, here comes none other than the DICT Secretary himself who declares the exact opposite,” he added.

“He’s essentially saying that there may be people out there right now who are actually helping with the registration — and these people aren’t scammers. He leaves it to people to determine whether the person offering registration help is a scammer or not.”

Jacob said the use of unreliable barangay IDs is just “more proof that this system will never be the solution to scams and other crimes committed through the use of SIM cards, which its proponents claimed to be.”

“There is a reason why barangay IDs have traditionally not been recognized as a true government-issued ID. And that’s because they are unreliable [and] can be obtained easily… if you know the right people in a barangay.