Hong KongTelecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation, registration, deregistration and records of SIM cards
In force since .
A common carriage rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Governance, Retention
As of .
What it requires
- Keep a SIM card inactive unless it is currently registered with you as the specified licensee (section 5).
- Register a SIM card only when the person has given all the specified information and you have no reasonable cause to believe it incomplete, contradictory, false or misleading, and keep each individual to no more than 10, and each business registration holder to no more than 25, pre-paid SIM cards registered with you (sections 6 and 7).
- Deregister a SIM card when you have reasonable cause to believe the registered information is incomplete or false, after giving the person reasonable steps to rectify it (section 9).
- Keep a record of each SIM card and its registered information while it is registered and for 1 year afterwards (section 11).
- Provide a SIM card record to a law enforcement officer who presents a magistrate's warrant, or who is authorized in writing by a senior officer under section 13, as soon as practicable (sections 12 and 13).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
Section 5 requires a specified licensee that supplies a service through a SIM card to ensure that the SIM card is not active unless it is currently registered with the licensee, except while it is active solely to facilitate registration.
Section 6 allows registration only if the person has provided all the specified information and the licensee has no reasonable cause to believe it incomplete, contradictory, false or misleading, and section 7 requires the licensee to ensure that no individual has more than 10, and no business registration holder more than 25, pre-paid SIM cards currently registered with that licensee.
Section 9 requires deregistration where the licensee has reasonable cause to believe the registered information is incomplete or false, after taking reasonable steps to let the person rectify it, and section 11 requires the licensee to keep a record of the SIM card and the registered information for the registration period and 1 year afterwards.
Sections 12 and 13 require the licensee to provide a SIM card record to a law enforcement officer under a magistrate's warrant, or without a warrant on the written authorization of a senior officer where a serious offence or a risk to life or of serious bodily harm is suspected and a warrant is impracticable.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app provides telecom services.