The board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) approved on Wednesday the draft of a new SIM card registration system and the collection of mobile users' data through a biometric system.
The draft requires all mobile operators to process the SIM card registration via liveness detection technology.
The requirement is expected to take effect in 180 days as mobile service operators need time to adjust their systems for compliance.
The new rule is to prevent malicious registrations, such as using other people's photos, editing other people's photos from clips or using photos taken from outdated images to register, said NBTC board chairman Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck.
The NBTC's draft has defined some details for vulnerable groups who may not be ready for the new registration method, such as the disabled or the elderly. For these groups, the mobile phone operators will have to devise ways to carefully relax their registration procedures.
"The NBTC move is to enforce stricter measures to tackle rampant online fraud and call centre gangs," said Dr Sarana.
NBTC commissioner Pol Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn said the draft is an adjustment of the 2019 announcement on SIM card registration systems and mobile users' data collection.
The update requires stricter registration processes, using a biometric system to prevent errors with data that could enable the creation of mule accounts.
All mobile operators must provide a biometric system for new SIM registration via their registration applications and service shops within 180 days after the enforcement of the new registration requirement.
Operators that fail to comply with the new rules face penalties from NBTC administrative orders, ranging from warnings and fines to licence revocation.
Moreover, these companies may be socially sanctioned, creating a greater negative impact for them, he said.
Although some mobile operators currently use a system with such a part of a biometric system, Pol Gen Nathathorn said it is not used in the way that the NBTC requires.
The regulator prefers a similar system to that used for mobile banking, or even upgraded systems.
The NBTC expects cooperation from all mobile operators as the draft and biometric system would directly reduce mule accounts, he said.
The NBTC office earlier talked with representatives from mobile phone operators in parallel with drafting the new rules to help them prepare for the biometric registration system.