INTERNATIONAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT IDENTITY

INTERNATIONAL MOBILE EQUIPMENT IDENTITY

My fellow Filipinos, I do not know who the technocrats are who proposed the whole idea of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card registration, but perhaps it is not too late to take a second look at it. But before I go any further, I would like to ask those technocrats what their purpose is for proposing the project. That is so, because whatever their choice it, it will determine whether they have met their objective or not.

Going straight to the point, SIM cards are the better choices for purposes of network connectivity and communication. The other choice, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is not a card, but a number that is embedded into the mobile device instead. By comparison, IMEI is crucial for device identification and security. While an owner of a device could change his or her SIM card at any time, the IMEI number is permanent in his or her device and therefore it could never be changed.

In my opinion, the use of SIM technology could be preferred if the objective is data privacy, and the use of IMEI could be preferred if the objective is data security. I am saying that because a user could change his or her SIM card at any time if he or she wants to change his or her identity, and he or she could get away with it, provided that the government does not require him or her to register his or her IMEI number. This opinion of mine is oriented towards data privacy for the device owner.

However, if the orientation is data security for the country, and not for the data privacy of the owner, then the use of the IMEI would be preferrable. This is also just an opinion of mine, and others could have their own interpretation. In defense of my opinion, I would like to cite the possibility that if anyone changes his SIM card for any purpose, the government could no longer track him or her if his or her IMEI is not registered. On the other hand, if his or her IMEI is registered, the government could still track him or her if her IMEI is registered.

In theory, all the scam messages that are being sent now via Short Messaging Services (SMS) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) messages could either be stopped or minimized if all the IMEI numbers of all numbers that are being used will be registered. Although this technology is already available even as we speak, I would still caution the government to carefully weigh the pros and cons of implementing it, because it could potentially violate data privacy laws and even human rights.

The reality is, there is always a need for the government to balance the dual need for data security and data privacy. Between our three branches of government, I really do not know which of them could resolve this issue. Perhaps the Executive Branch could start the ball rolling by issuing some Executive Orders (EOs), but eventually the Legislative Branch could pass the pertinent laws. Later, the Judicial Branch could issue rulings if landmark cases are filed. Very truly yours, IKE SENERES/11-19-24/visit my blog senseneres.blogspot.com

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