The "most stringent" mobile phone card in history issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology - the real-name registration system stipulates that from September 1, 2015, telecom operators will require users to sell mobile phone cards through various physical marketing channels. Show your ID card and verify it on the spot at the second-generation ID card reader. Can the real-name system really protect user privacy, prevent text message harassment, and combat commercial fraud? This issue of Daily 315 focuses on the countdown to the mobile phone real-name registration system.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially issued a document stipulating that telecom companies will be fully equipped with second-generation ID card recognition equipment in all physical marketing channels starting from September 1 this year. That is to say, starting from September 1, consumers need to show their ID and verify it when purchasing mobile phone cards. Old customers who do not have their real names must also register with their real names again. Some people say that the new regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are true and will make the "three crimes" most hated by consumers - telephone harassment, personal information leakage, and telephone fraud a thing of the past.
In this regard, Zhu Wei, a researcher and master's tutor at the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, and Hu Gang, a lawyer from the China Consumers Association, analyzed and interpreted this.
Zhu Wei: I think this rule is very good. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued similar regulations in 2013, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress also mentioned the issue of the mobile phone real-name registration system in its decision on February 28, 2012. But judging from the current situation, it is indeed difficult to implement. So I think this new regulation is the strictest regulation in history. Nowadays, mobile phones are not only a communication tool, but many network services are also bound to mobile phones. In the absence of a real-name registration system on mobile phones, relevant bad information can be spread through mobile phones. Therefore, the mobile phone real-name registration system not only helps prevent telecommunications fraud, but also plays a vital role in purifying the Internet.
Hu Gang: First of all, at the end of last year, the three ministries and commissions actually took a special action to deal with black phone cards, because for a long time, many criminals have used the loopholes of non-real-name phone cards to defraud and even publish Serious information that causes social chaos has brought great harm to ordinary consumers and society as a whole. Therefore, we have formulated a series of relevant laws and regulations. For example, the 2000 Telecommunications Regulations stipulate that users of mobile phones are not allowed to provide false identification. Subsequently, on February 28, 2012, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed a decision to strengthen network information protection. From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, a special operation was launched, stipulating that professional equipment for checking second-generation ID cards will be used starting from September 1, so the whole process should be very clear. I believe that with the advancement of the entire special action, especially the improvement of relevant legislation and the supporting implementation of other systems, the effects should become clearer and clearer, and the rights and interests of every telecommunications consumer will be better protected.
Netizens also expressed their opinions on this move:
"Old Senior": I agree with the real-name registration system, so there should be very few scammers.
Feng Ming: The mobile phone real-name registration system can be said to be "full of ideals and realistic." Now "Can I give you my real name and can you give me a sense of security?" At present, my country's laws and regulations on personal privacy protection are still relatively weak, law enforcement is not strong enough, and personal information infringements are difficult to prevent. Although the company has regulations requiring employees to keep customer secrets, if it is difficult to guarantee it by law, the company system will be even more pale.
"Xiao Mo": I support the real-name system. The real-name system on mobile phones is not that scary. There is no direct causal relationship between the mobile phone real-name registration system and user privacy leaks. We cannot assume that every mobile phone user’s real-name information registration will inevitably lead to the leakage of their private information. There are many channels for user privacy leakage, and operator channels are only one of them. Other channels such as real estate agencies, banks and even merchants’ membership clubs may also leak user privacy. This is mainly due to the illegal operations of some people and cannot simply be attributed to the real-name system.
The reporter interviewed several newsstands near Zhongguancun in Beijing. The newsstand owner said that he had heard the news, but had not yet received the relevant notice from the operator requiring real-name registration. If he wants to buy it, non-real-name mobile phone numbers from the three major operators are still on sale.
In a mobile phone store in Wudaokou, the sales staff said they were aware of the real-name registration, but had not received any relevant notification from the operator. At present, the non-real-name registration numbers of the three operators are still available for purchase. They said: "If you want to buy it, it's still early. It's hard to say what will happen in the future."
Economic Voice: We have concerns about implementation Concerned?
Zhu Wei: Execution is definitely a big problem. First of all, if you want to implement a real-name registration system, you need to verify the second-generation ID card. However, some large-scale merchants or tourism operators may not be able to provide verification equipment for second-generation ID cards, so this measure may ultimately become a mere formality.
Next, let’s take a closer look at the issues that ordinary users are concerned about, such as how to perform real-name authentication. What are the methods?
Both new card users and old users can bring their second-generation ID cards to the designated work location to fill in registration materials and complete the authentication procedures. There are generally three ways to apply for mobile phone real-name registration, which can be through physical business halls, online business halls or agency outlets.
Recently, people in WeChat Moments have been saying that “users without real names will be shut down.” Many consumers were worried about being shut down and went to the business hall to handle related business. Two days ago, reporters saw a long queue of citizens coming to handle business in the mobile business hall on the first floor of Wangfujing Gongmei Building. According to the staff, most of the people who come to handle business recently are users who apply for mobile phone cards under the real-name system. Most of the time I see the message "Users with non-real names may be suspended" in their circle of friends. So, will the mobile phone without real name really be turned off? The reporter learned from the operator that mobile phone cards without real names will be shut down in batches, so mobile phone cards without real names must be replaced as soon as possible, but there will be a text message reminder before the shutdown.
Economic Voice: How serious is this problem?
Zhu Wei: This kind of shutdown is not a real shutdown. It just stops some services. For example, after you receive a text message, you cannot make calls outside without your real name, but you can answer calls or receive text messages.
Economic Voice: Should consumers be advised to go to the business hall to complete the real-name registration procedures as soon as possible to avoid affecting normal use?
Hu Gang: Indeed, many users have applied for replacement cards in the business hall. You may still be worried. Because starting from September 1st, telecom operators will fully use second-generation ID card identification equipment. This device is a physical device. You need to insert your ID card into this device to read the information on your ID card, not just the information on the surface of the ID card. Because today's ID cards are embedded with IC cards, their accuracy has been greatly improved. At the same time, the three ministries and commissions will emphasize the gradual strengthening of this real-name registration system in their future work plans. For example, they currently require network users who have not been authenticated by the real-name registration system before September 1 to register again when they apply for new services and change cards, and actively guide users to register again through phone bill points and other methods. , to ensure that by the end of this year, the company's all telephone real-name registration systems will reach more than 90%, and will inform old users who have not real-named through various methods of re-registration methods. According to the documents of the three ministries and commissions, when old users without their real names are re-registered, telecom companies are not allowed to add user requirements without authorization. If users are required to change their tariff packages, users can make their own choices. This measure will actually have no impact on consumer tariffs.
Economic Voice: Is there a more convenient way, such as an APP, to facilitate people to go through the procedures in the real-name registration system?
Hu Gang: APP has one biggest problem. First of all, relevant staff need to take photos, and the ID card information may remain in the mobile phone used to take the photos, thus causing another information hazard. Although our telecommunications department has relevant management measures, this situation cannot be ruled out. If we fully equip the second-generation ID card with this recognition device, there will be no reading problems at all, so it plays a very important role in ensuring the information security of the user's personal ID card.
China Mobile recently stated that starting from September 1, 2015, it will further strengthen the verification of ID card information of new customers through the application of new technologies and new equipment; for old customers who have not real-named, if necessary, In accordance with national laws and regulations and the work requirements of relevant ministries and commissions, we adopt measures to restrict communications and business, and urge users to register with their real names in accordance with the law.
However, consumers also encountered some problems in actual processing. For example, Ms. Liu from Beijing found that the name of a stranger "Huang Moumou" was registered in the phone card she used. In this case, the staff told Ms. Liu that in addition to presenting her ID card and mobile phone password, she also needed to provide five phone numbers dialed in the past three months, so that the owner of the number could be transferred directly to Ms. Liu's name. What other problems might consumers encounter? What should I pay attention to?
Zhu Wei: In the past, there were many problems because real-name registration was not adopted. For example, this number is used by someone else. After others used it, it was circulated in the market two or even three times because it was better. The number purchased by Ms. Liu should not be the initial number, but one that has been used by others, so there is a big question. Why was this number directly circulated to the market without clearing the relevant records before it was circulated to the market twice? This also reflects the hidden dangers of the non-real-name registration system. In fact, this time the real-name registration system is not a one-to-one real-name registration system, but one ID card can be used to register for multiple mobile phone numbers, maybe three, maybe five.
Hu Gang: In fact, there is a very special sentence in the document issued by the three ministries and commissions, that is, users who use the same ID card to register more than five mobile phone cards in a province need to focus on verifying their registration. information. There is a problem here. First of all, is it necessary to have five phone cards? There is also a small loophole. If each province can register for more than five tickets, what about different provinces? In fact, we can ask for a more convenient way, which is to ask China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom, the three basic telecommunications companies, to tell me at once how many cards my ID card has been applied for by these three domestic telecommunications companies. If I didn't do it myself, I should have canceled those cards. I think such work should be done in this area.
Zhu Wei: There will be no roaming charges in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. So are they one province?
Hu Gang: They are still divided into provinces in terms of business, but the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei issue is still worthy of praise, because I remember we had a program specifically calling for it. For example, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei have now canceled roaming fees, so the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and the three northeastern provinces may also take similar measures. Because the cost of roaming charges is actually very low, and we are also emphasizing the Internet plus action plan to promote information consumption, I personally look forward to the elimination of roaming charges nationwide.
The three major operators have slightly different requirements for re-registering real-name information. The reporter called the customer service of the three operators to inquire about the real-name registration system. The materials required by China Mobile are the personal ID card and mobile phone password, as well as the five phone numbers dialed in the past three months; China Unicom requires the owner to bring the ID card, password, mobile phone card, card tray and the person who has been contacted frequently in the past three months. Go to China Unicom's own business hall to apply for the four numbers; China Telecom customer service said that the owner needs to bring his ID card to the business hall. Therefore, I also remind friends who want to re-apply for the real-name registration system that it is best to consult the customer service of the operator to which the mobile phone card belongs in advance.
In fact, starting from September 2013, all new landline and mobile phones, including network cards, must undergo nationwide real identity registration. Once the mobile phone number changes hands, the communication company must cancel all the information of the original card owner and register the new user's information for replacement. But in fact, our program often receives complaints from consumers, reflecting that they are frequently harassed and troubled after changing their mobile phone numbers.
Let’s take a look at what happened to Ms. Zheng. Not long ago, Ms. Zheng returned to Beijing from overseas and bought a mobile phone card starting with 135 for 30 yuan at a mobile phone store near her home. What she didn't expect was that after using this mobile phone number, she would receive more than three strange calls every day, calling people by name that Ms. Zheng didn't know. Ms. Zheng estimated that this number may have been used before. At first, she patiently explained that the owner of the mobile phone card had changed, but in recent days, the situation has intensified, with more than a dozen strange calls in one night. What's more, someone called Ms. Zheng and asked if she knew the original card owner, saying that it was related to an economic case. In addition to being harassed by unknown calls, Ms. Zheng’s mobile phone number cannot be bound to Alipay because this card is currently bound to another Alipay account.
Ms. Zheng called China Mobile hotline 10086 to ask for a solution, but the customer service staff said they could not solve it. She suggested that Ms. Zheng negotiate with the card seller to change the card. The store that sold mobile phone cards said that the cards they sold were non-refundable and suggested that Ms. Zheng go to the business hall of the mobile company to change the card. Ms. Zheng went to a mobile business hall in Beijing for consultation. The staff of the mobile business hall said that this situation occurred because the phone card starting with 135 used by Ms. Zheng was a refurbished card that had been cancelled. The staff member said that most of these refurbished cards returned to the market after being inactive for half a year. Some of them will be sold for a second time, and some will be sold to consumers as Internet cards. At the same time, Ms. Zheng also raised the issue of harassment by unknown calls. The staff of the mobile business hall said that this situation is inevitable and suggested that Ms. Zheng choose a newer number. In the end, the staff canceled the original card according to Ms. Zheng's wishes and applied for a new mobile phone card for free.
Economic Voice: What problems will this secondary sale of mobile phone numbers bring to consumers? What clear legal provisions does the state have on the secondary sale of mobile phone numbers?
Zhu Wei: Actually, the number segment is a kind of resource. The law does not prohibit entering the second cycle, but there are two prerequisites. The first premise is that you must first desensitize. What is desensitization? That is to say, before entering the market, all the previous person's market entry records must be erased, and half a year of suspension is definitely not enough. In this case, Ms. Zheng’s Alipay is still bound to her mobile phone number, so the number is not completely desensitized. Therefore, after entering the market, people who later buy this account may not be able to continue to bind to other services. This is a very serious problem and there is no corresponding legal solution. When the phone cards were sold for the second time, it was not only the telecommunications department that was responsible for desensitization, but also the network service providers. Who is responsible for the unified management of this information? The law does not expressly provide for this. In addition, after the mobile phone number enters the market for the second time, if the main purpose is to purchase a new mobile phone, does the operator have the obligation to inform the consumer that the card has been purchased or used? Although we have tried our best to desensitize users, users may still encounter other problems after getting the card, but I think this is the most basic obligation to inform. Failure to fulfill the obligation to inform consumers constitutes fraud in itself.
Economic Voice: What problems will arise if one person has multiple accounts?
Hu Gang: This does not mean a maximum of five numbers, but the documents of the three ministries and commissions require the same ID card to register five cards in the same province for key verification, but there are no special restrictions. But I believe that the situation of more than five cards should be relatively rare, but the legal issues related to it are also more complicated.
Economic Voice: Is it possible to borrow someone else’s ID card to register?
Zhu Wei: This is vicarious liability in terms of civil liability, so I would like to remind consumers not to lend their ID cards to others to open accounts, because all activities using your mobile phone number, including surfing the Internet, will It is presumed to be your own behavior, so this will cause endless trouble for consumers.
Economic Voice: Should numbers with criminal records be destroyed?
Hu Gang: First of all, what we call a card number is technically called a telecommunications code number. First of all, according to our telecommunications regulations, this telecommunications purchase number resource is owned by the state, and users only have the right to use mobile phone card numbers within a specific period of time, or a related card number. Second, the number resource itself is scarce, not unlimited. Therefore, if it is necessary to put desensitization into the market for secondary use, operators do need to fulfill their obligation to inform. But at the same time, if this number has been used on other occasions, or still exists in some kind of cyberspace, our mobile phone real-name registration system or online real-name registration system will have a great impact on the personal information protection system. Regarding the protection of personal information, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law on August 29. In the Criminal Law Amendment Act promulgated in 2009, criminal investigations involving the protection of personal information, such as theft, illegal acquisition, etc., are punishable by up to 3 years in prison. Starting from November 11 this year, the situation is particularly serious. Alternatively, desensitization may be a longer-term direction. In short, our protection of consumer rights and interests, especially in the information age, must become stronger and stronger.
Economic Voice: In the case just now, Ms. Zheng bought a second-hand mobile phone number without knowing it.
Is she entitled to compensation? Who should I file a claim with? Is it also suspected of fraud for merchants?
Hu Gang: This is basically a case of false notification and concealment of the truth. If a code number has been used before, but the operator did not inform consumers of this important product situation, there is a situation of concealing the truth. Consumers can use this to assert their rights, including refunding one price and paying three indemnity, but consumers must also bear the relevant burden of proof.
Economic Voice: Some experts say that the online real-name registration system and the mobile phone real-name registration system are closely integrated. Why should we implement an online real-name registration system?
Zhu Wei: This is a big game. The future development direction of the Internet must be the Internet real-name registration system. First, the online real-name registration system can promote social integrity. Second, the online real-name registration system is conducive to the development of the Internet economy. At present, our country has several legal provisions, especially the recent ten WeChat articles, which clearly explain what the current online real-name registration system is, but why should the mobile phone real-name registration system and the online real-name registration system be closely integrated? Because we are faced with a choice when discussing the online real-name registration system. One is to use electronic identity, but the cost of electronic identity may be relatively high. The other is to use telecommunications, that is, through the real-name registration system through mobile phone numbers, and then conduct secondary verification online. , this cost is relatively low, but during the implementation process, we found that there are about 600 million to 700 million numbers that have been verified, but there are still about 200 million that have not been verified at all, so the premise and foundation for realizing the online real-name registration system must be mobile phones Real-name registration system, so this problem.
Hu Gang: Judging from the current situation, our "National Security Law" was officially implemented in July 2019. Article 25 of the "National Security Law" specifically stipulates the construction of network and information in our country. Some important directions of the security system. At the same time, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is reviewing the Cybersecurity Law, which has very clear provisions on the protection of the online real-name registration system, including personal information on the Internet. This law is led by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Many experts in the industry believe that the cybersecurity law may be promulgated within this year, and the online real-name registration system will also be implemented accordingly. Because the Internet we are talking about now has shifted from the traditional fixed network to the mobile Internet, in which mobile phones are an important carrier, the mobile phone real-name registration system and the network real-name registration system are two sides of an organic whole. Although the real-name system is not a panacea, it is absolutely impossible without a real-name system.