Pakistan requiring all cellphone users to submit fingerprints or give up service

[Chef Ramsay]

Pakistanis face a deadline: Surrender fingerprints or give up cellphone

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Cellphones didn’t just arrive in Pakistan. But someone could be fooled into thinking otherwise, considering the tens of millions of Pakistanis pouring into mobile phone stores these days.

In one of the world’s largest — and fastest — efforts to collect biometric information, Pakistan has ordered cellphone users to verify their identities through fingerprints for a national database being compiled to curb terrorism. If they don’t, their service will be shut off, an unthinkable option for many after a dozen years of explosive growth in cellphone usage here.

...

But the effort to match one person to each cellphone number involves a jaw-dropping amount of work. At the start of this year, there were 103 million SIM cards in Pakistan — roughly the number of the adult population — that officials were not sure were valid or properly registered. And mobile companies have until April 15 to verify the owners of all of the cards, which are tiny chips in cellphones that carry a subscriber’s personal security and identity information.

In the past six weeks, 53 million SIMs belonging to 38 million residents have been verified through biometric screening, officials said.

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More...http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/pakistanis-face-a-deadline-surrender-fingerprints-or-give-up-cellphone/2015/02/23/de995a88-b932-11e4-bc30-a4e75503948a_story.html

[pattu1]

This would be a gargantuan exercise.
If the exercise of collecting data could be extended and put to use (the biometrics and cellphone number could be utilized for creating a national database and providing benefits to the entire population), it might have some benefits.
I doubt this would happen in Pakistan.

[RedhatCAT]

I don't think this is going to solve very much. Unless they are going to limit people to one SIM card per person (which such limit is not mentioned in the article), then people could buy multiple phones/SIMs and then resell them at a premium. These people would be risking their freedom if caught however if they sold enough of them, it would be reasonable that any criminal use attached to SIM cards they sold would not be the responsibility of the person who had their identity verified.

[pattu1]

Would be easy for corruption to seep in.
Digital data of fingerprints will be up for sale and then be misused.

[Gronthaing]

Would be easy for corruption to seep in.
Digital data of fingerprints will be up for sale and then be misused.

That or just stealing of cell phones will go up. This will do very little to fight terrorism. More so when Pakistan funds terrorist groups to do their work for them. Same as Saudi Arabia, America, etc. And when they lose control of those groups it's the population that suffers as always.

[pattu1]

Would be easy for corruption to seep in.
Digital data of fingerprints will be up for sale and then be misused.

That or just stealing of cell phones will go up. This will do very little to fight terrorism. More so when Pakistan funds terrorist groups to do their work for them. Same as Saudi Arabia, America, etc. And when they lose control of those groups it's the population that suffers as always.

The onus of disabling the cell phone would fall on the original owner.
I agree that the state should stop funding terrorists to serve its vested interests.

[noma]

Its definitely a good move, but the obvious misuse that I can think of is people buying multiple connections for themselves, and then selling it.
That will therefore not be curbing anything.

[irfan_pak10]

Yeah its a good move here. But whats now the dead line has just crossed which was 26 and after that sim cards that were not biometric had to be suspended / blocked which had never heppend still. Whats going on why they are not blocking

[irfan_pak10]

Yeah its a good move here. But whats now the dead line has just crossed which was 26 and after that sim cards that were not biometric had to be suspended / blocked which had never heppend still. Whats going on why they are not blocking

By the way whats the timeline on the ban? Will it happen this month itself, or is the news a heads up warning for 2-3 months down the line ?

Yes they started this campaign 1 and half month ago and starting advertising it on tvs and sending msgs to their customers.
Time line was the yesterday and afterthat the sim card has been ban but did not happened this though

[picolo]

I don't think this is going to solve very much. Unless they are going to limit people to one SIM card per person (which such limit is not mentioned in the article), then people could buy multiple phones/SIMs and then resell them at a premium. These people would be risking their freedom if caught however if they sold enough of them, it would be reasonable that any criminal use attached to SIM cards they sold would not be the responsibility of the person who had their identity verified.

They would be considered complices of the crime and jailed.

[Wilikon]

I don't think this is going to solve very much. Unless they are going to limit people to one SIM card per person (which such limit is not mentioned in the article), then people could buy multiple phones/SIMs and then resell them at a premium. These people would be risking their freedom if caught however if they sold enough of them, it would be reasonable that any criminal use attached to SIM cards they sold would not be the responsibility of the person who had their identity verified.

They would be considered complices of the crime and jailed.

What if every single phone was 'stolen' and used by 'someone else' all over the country? A soon as this happens go to the cops and tell them. Then ask for a new phone with your new set of fingerprints. And start over again... If everyone does it all the time then the database becomes huge and burdensome... No idea if that would work on such scale.

 

[pitham1]

Yeah its a good move here. But whats now the dead line has just crossed which was 26 and after that sim cards that were not biometric had to be suspended / blocked which had never heppend still. Whats going on why they are not blocking

They probably will give an extension. Deadlines are usually not adhered to. 

[irfan_pak10]

I don't think this is going to solve very much. Unless they are going to limit people to one SIM card per person (which such limit is not mentioned in the article), then people could buy multiple phones/SIMs and then resell them at a premium. These people would be risking their freedom if caught however if they sold enough of them, it would be reasonable that any criminal use attached to SIM cards they sold would not be the responsibility of the person who had their identity verified.

They would be considered complices of the crime and jailed.

What if every single phone was 'stolen' and used by 'someone else' all over the country? A soon as this happens go to the cops and tell them. Then ask for a new phone with your new set of fingerprints. And start over again... If everyone does it all the time then the database becomes huge and burdensome... No idea if that would work on such scale.

 

The person who lost his phone with a sim card can call to a specific operator and ask them to block that sim card that he had lost with number ....... So that sim card has no more use.

[jaysabi]

Pakistan is upping the ante on the population surveillance initiative. The NSA is probably wondering why they didn't think of that. Or worse, laughing at how quaint it is because their capabilities go so far beyond it.

[Mr Tea]

This is never about terrorism but that's always the excuse they use. It's about power and control and trying to know everything anyone does. Every extreme measure you put in place to try combat terrorism the real "terrorists" will just find ways around it whilst you just punish the rest of the innocent populace.

[irfan_pak10]

Yeah its a good move here. But whats now the dead line has just crossed which was 26 and after that sim cards that were not biometric had to be suspended / blocked which had never heppend still. Whats going on why they are not blocking

They probably will give an extension. Deadlines are usually not adhered to. 

Great said yes they extended it till 15 march. But i dont think there will be going to happen any thing after that. Because there are a lot of sims which they dont want to block

[shogdite]

Coming to a neighborhood near you....

Won't this just create a black market for sim cards / fingerprints?  I doubt any self-respecting terrorist wouldn't be communicating by phone.