HONG KONG – Hong Kong authorities are seeking public opinion over a real-time registration system for mobile phone SIM cards in a bid to tackle crime in the city, the government said on Friday. This move is sure to stoke concerns about privacy.
Many countries have such registration systems, but some people in Hong Kong fear such a change could assist a crackdown on dissent that began with Beijing’s imposition of a sweeping national security law last year.
Currently only mobile users on SIM service contracts must register actual personal details in Hong Kong, though anyone can buy a pre-paid SIM card from most convenience stores.
The rule aims to keep criminals from concealing their identities and put a stop to a “common tool used…in committing serious and violent crimes that threaten public safety,” the government said in a statement.
It has set a Feb. 28 deadline for comment on the proposed compulsory registration, which would require users to furnish full names and an identity document.
In recent months, China has bolstered its security apparatus in the former British colony, creating a security agency with broad powers beyond the scrutiny of the courts.
The tighter measures come despite the promise of a high degree of autonomy from Beijing when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Hong Kong has one of Asia’s highest smartphone penetration rates, at almost 80% of its population of 7.5 million. Its only regional peers are other developed economies, such as Singapore and South Korea.
In 2019, Hong Kong had about 14.5 million pre-paid SIM card subscribers, an increase of 16.6% on the year, says German database firm Statista.
