A bill has been submitted to the Turkish parliament, according to which foreign citizens will have to use special mobile phone numbers.
After the bill is approved, foreign citizens will have six months to apply for a new mobile phone number reserved specifically for them.
- Operators will have to verify the identity of subscribers using biometric data, such as face or fingerprint scans, or using a verified digital identification code.
- After the bill is passed, mobile operators will be required to confirm every three months that subscribers are alive or, in the case of companies, that their legal status has not changed.If the latter cannot be confirmed with official documents, the operator must automatically cancel the subscription. The bill also introduces a limit on the number of mobile numbers that can be registered per person.
The new requirement will not apply to diplomats and their family members.
According to officials, the reform is aimed at limiting the use of mobile numbers in criminal activities. They note that fraud, theft, and credit card crimes are often linked to numbers registered in multiple names or to unverified users.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
