Registration a legal requirement: Kwa

SIM card registration is a legal requirement set by the government and subscribers should comply to avoid deactivation, Constitutional and Law Reform Commission Secretary Eric Kwa, pictured, says.
“It’s almost the same as getting a bank card. SIM is like a service, so when you want to get a service you have to register for that service,” Kwa said.
“So if you don’t want your rights to be violated, then don’t register to use the SIM card, it’s as simple as that. It’s a choice.
“So a service has been provided and you decide, you have the constitutional right, you make the decision, and nobody is forcing you.
“So the SIM registration is not forcing anybody; it’s actually saying that for those who want to use the service, the only requirement is to register.
“If you do not register, you cannot access the service eventually. You cannot make a call or send text messages through mobile phone companies like Digicel and bmobile-Vodafone.”
Kwa said that such mobile phone service providers have to comply with the rules set by the government.
“As the service providers, there are rules and they have to keep to those rules, and the government sets the rules,” he said.
“SIM card registration is a requirement that has been imposed by the government because that service is very vital to everybody.”
Kwa said that if people felt that their rights would be violated as a result of the registration process, then they should not register their SIM cards.
“Having that service is not your right. There is a difference – you have the right to privacy, you make the decision,” Kwa said.
“Whether you want to forfeit that right or you want to transfer that right – that is your choice.”
The service provider is not invading into your privacy, it’s just providing the service. You decide.”
Kwa said that the system of SIM registration was not only practised in Papua New Guinea but a standard requirement all over the world.
“You arrive in Australia, you give your passport if you want to buy a SIM,” he said.
“You arrive in India, Singapore, they all are the same. Every SIM is registered.
“You don’t just buy a SIM card off the shelf.”