To reduce crime, the Ministry of the Interior (MoI) is proposing to start registering prepaid mobile SIM card users, the ministry has announced.
The MoI has prepared and submitted draft amendments to the Electronic Communications Law for review by other ministries. The amendments would require registration of the end users of prepaid mobile communication services, which, the ministry believes, would help prevent crimes and support their detection and investigation.
The aim of the bill is to require electronic communications providers to store data about the end users of prepaid services, while also obliging users to provide identification data. It is also planned to introduce administrative liability for failure to register end users.
The ministry notes that since 2020, there has been a steady increase in phone fraud cases.
Typically, criminals use SIM cards that they switch out daily—sometimes even several times a day—along with the mobile devices themselves.
Criminals can also commit crimes using SIM cards that provide internet access only, making criminal intelligence gathering and pre-trial investigations more difficult, the ministry stresses.
According to State Police (SP) practices, criminals use unregistered SIM cards for anonymous communication, illegal and covert tracking of people or objects, anonymous circulation of illegal content (including child exploitation material or protected data), and providing illegal services or distribution of illicit substances or devices. They are also used to conceal identity when committing cybercrimes or engaging in unlawful recruitment.
SP data shows that, on average, unregistered SIM cards are used in about 30% of all ongoing criminal investigations—a figure that continues to grow. In recent months, the share has risen to approximately 40%. Moreover, the more serious the crime being planned, the more likely perpetrators are to use unregistered SIM cards. Fraud is the most common crime committed using these cards.
Registering SIM card data would also help reduce false bomb threats, financial fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, and the use of unauthorized surveillance devices (e.g., drones, GPS trackers, video cameras, wiretaps) to gather data on individuals and critical infrastructure, the ministry forecasts.
Using unregistered SIM cards with mobile data access enables criminals to activate apps for covert communication and then remove the card from the device, switching to Wi-Fi connections to continue operations. This further enhances criminals’ ability to hide their identities and erase evidence—posing a national security risk.
Due to the current geopolitical situation, more countries worldwide are adopting mandatory SIM card registration policies. As of 2021, 157 countries had such regulations. In the EU, SIM card registration is not required in only a handful of countries: the Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, Finland, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Cyprus, Slovenia, Romania, and Croatia.
Mandatory SIM card registration will be introduced in Lithuania starting the 1st of January 2025. Furthermore, discussions are ongoing at the EU level about implementing a uniform regulation for mandatory SIM card registration.
To implement this requirement in Latvia, the Electronic Communications Law would need to be amended to allow providers to request and require customers to submit identification data—similar to current rules for postpaid service users. This includes name, surname, personal ID number or company registration number, and address.
Additionally, the law would require vendors to record the SIM card number and link it to the buyer’s identification data.