It aims to reduce the number of crimes using mobile communications
Deputies of the lower house of parliament Vasily Piskarev and Anton Gorelkin introduced a bill to the State Duma that is designed to reduce the number of crimes using mobile communications. The new law will also tighten the conditions for the purchase of Russian SIM cards by foreigners.
According to the document, the subscriber will receive a notification about all telephone numbers registered to him. A notification will also be sent when a new contract is concluded, and the subscriber will be able to suspend its validity if in fact it was not he who concluded the contract. And telecom operators will be required to transmit information about the conclusion of contracts for posting in the subscriber’s personal account on «Gosuslugkh».
If the new law is adopted, more stringent requirements will be imposed on foreigners when purchasing SIM cards in Russia. For example, they will not be able to conclude an agreement via the Internet, but only in person at communication stores and points of sale. Identity will need to be verified using the Unified Biometric System.
In addition, no more than 10 numbers can be issued for one foreign citizen, and the contract will indicate the IMEI code of the phone, tablet or laptop, so that it is impossible to rearrange the SIM card into another device. Foreigners will have to renew previously executed contracts on new terms before March 1, 2025.