Filenews 2 October 2025
No more hide-and-seek with "anonymous" mobile phone cards. The state will know who owns what, who is hiding behind a mobile phone card or it will simply be cancelled. All this, invoking reasons of state security or even the fight against serious crimes.
The time is approaching as compliance with the provisions of the relevant legislation must be completed by November 3, 2025.
It is noted that there are currently 417,631 prepaid mobile phone cards in force. About half of them belong to customers of CYTA, which went further than the other companies in terms of identification.
The relevant user disclosure regulations are being brought before the plenary of the Parliament and it is only a matter of time before they are adopted, despite the disagreements that have been expressed from time to time. It is noted that during the discussion before the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, its members expressed the need to intensify the efforts of all parties involved to identify the holders and users, precisely taking into account the compliance deadline.
In the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, before which the relevant Regulations were discussed ("The Identification of Holders and/or Users of SIM Subscriber Identity Cards and/or eSIM Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services Regulations of 2025") it is stated that: "Purpose of the proposed regulations, which are issued pursuant to Article 10(2) of the Identification of Holders and/or Users of SIM Subscriber Identity Cards and/or eSIM Services Prepaid Mobile Telephony Law, is the determination of the procedures for the identification of owners and users of prepaid mobile telephony services by mobile telephony service providers and authorized representatives of providers".
In particular, according to the explanatory report accompanying the regulations, the proposed regulations aim to strengthen public safety and facilitate the investigation of serious criminal offences, ensuring compliance with the basic principles of personal data processing.
The Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, both orally and in writing, in a note sent to the committee, recommended the addition to Annex A of the welfare regulations, according to which it is provided that the provider or the authorized representative of the provider will not receive or keep photocopies of identification documents, such as the identity card or the passport. The representative of the Office of the Commissioner for Communications agreed with the addition of this provision.
At the same time, members of the committee expressed reservations regarding the provision proposed in the regulations according to which the holder who makes a solemn declaration for the disclosure of the details of a minor user is not required to be his parent or guardian.The committee, taking into account the suggestions and reservations expressed on the proposed regulations, decided, with the consent of the competent authorities, to make individual amendments to the text of the regulations, in order to:
1. to add the above provision proposed by the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection to Annex A of the regulations and
2. To require that the holder who makes a solemn declaration for the disclosure of the details of a minor user is his/her parent or guardian or the person authorized by the Director of Social Welfare Services.
The report states, based on the above, that the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, Communications and Works, after taking into account everything that was put before it and after making the necessary legislative corrections and improvements to the formulated text of the regulations, reserved its position on the regulations during their discussion before the plenary session of the body.
