Hong Kong man seeks court review of ‘biased’ policy requiring real-name registration for mobile SIM cards

Cheung Wun-yiu applies for judicial review, says new rule is unfair for anyone hoping to remain anonymous over the phone

‘The state of anonymity is not a manifestation of criminal intent or motive altogether,’ he says in filing

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The registration policy was originally proposed to combat criminals using anonymous pay-as-you-go cards to evade detection. Photo: Edmond So

Published: 5:42pm, 24 May 2023

A Hong Kong man is seeking a court review of what he called a “biased” government policy requiring residents to provide their real name and personal details for compulsory SIM card registration.

Applying for a judicial review on Tuesday, Cheung Wun-yiu said the new rule had unfairly cast people hoping to remain unidentified in a bad light, including those filing anonymous complaints to authorities.

“The state of anonymity is not a manifestation of criminal intent or motive altogether,” Cheung wrote in the High Court filing. “The status has positive value and utility.”

Under the new rules, SIM cards must be registered with a real name, date of birth and Hong Kong identity card number. Photo: Edmond So

The applicant also questioned the move’s effectiveness in detecting crimes such as phone scams, adding that fraudsters could use different means to bait victims.

“Instead, it’s more effective to educate the public about fraud or for police to collaborate with banks and other parties, just like what they did recently,” he said.

First proposed in January 2021, the Telecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation took effect in September the same year and registration began in March 2022.

Under the new rules, SIM cards must be registered with a real name, date of birth and Hong Kong identity card number. Ones that were not fully registered on or before February 23 this year were deactivated.