SIM registrations about mass surveillance – IPPR

The Institute for Public Policy and Research (IPPR) says mandatory SIM card registration is a tool to conduct mass surveillance, and not necessarily to address crime as the information ministry claims.This follows calls that every cellphone number must be registered by 31 March, or face being disconnected from the network by mobile operators MTC and Telecom Namibia.“The way the ministerial statement is framed, it sounds as if SIM card registration is principally being implemented to ‘address crime and enable the application of digital services’, as well as being ‘a tool for e-service rollout’,” the IPPR said in an opinion piece.“This framing is arguably meant to downplay the fact that SIM card registration is first and foremost about easing and enabling digital surveillance and interception, according to Part 6 of Chapter 5 of the Communications Act 8 of 2009,” it added.According to the organisation, with mandatory SIM card registration, the law - through regulations gazetted in 2021 - “eases and enables” indiscriminate mass surveillance of the digital communications of everyone operating a SIM card or internet connection in Namibia.Primary beneficiaryThe biggest beneficiary following the registrations will be the National Central Intelligence Service (NCIS), and not law enforcement agencies, it said.“The primary beneficiary of this ‘instrument’ is, of course, the NCIS, embedded in the Office of the President. The NCIS is responsible for gathering crime intelligence and spearheading the Namibian state’s ‘counter-terrorism efforts’,” the IPPR added.The registration of SIM cards will also lead to the indiscriminate mass surveillance of individuals, the organisation claimed.“In Namibia, indiscriminate mass surveillance is the logical consequence of mandatory SIM card registration and bulk data retention – every packet of telecommunications data has to be stored for a period of five years and can be linked to a verified and traceable telecommunications service user.”

SIM registrations about mass surveillance – IPPR

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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SIM registrations about mass surveillance – IPPR

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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