Situation (Thesis Statement):

I agree to the proposal to have a nationwide mandatory

registration of prepaid subscriber identification module (SIM) cards
as it will help to address mobile-related crimes and mobile phone
aided terrorism.

As I watch the on-going criminal activities in the television, I

have witnessed how criminal abused the non-registration and loose
regulation on SIM cards. One example is the bombing in Davao City
where the bomb was allegedly detonated using a cellular phone.

So I think there is a great necessity of SIM verification and

registration.

Problems: How can SIM verification/registration help our society

especially in terms of criminal activities?

Causes of Problem:
The causes of proposing SIM verification are as follow;
a. Abuse of anonymity in prank calls, threats and malicious texts.
b. Children, teenagers and womenfolk are often the victims of these
phantom culprits.
c. Committing anti-social/criminal behaviour including recruiting
future terrorists using mobile devices.
d. Cell phones have become effective platforms that may be used for
illegal purposes.
e. Cell phones are favoured tool in the commission of crimes by both
the organized and small-scale criminals alike.
f. Cell phones using prepaid SIM cards had been used in kidnappings
and to remotely detonate explosives

Paradigm
PositiveParadigm:
The usage of Mobile Phones carved a booming path in one’s life. It
made it easy for criminals to use mobile as a medium of attack. To
look into the cyber – crimes committed over cell – phones, it is
important to take note of what these crimes actually are.
Vishing: It is the basic tool resorted to for committing financial
crimes using the mobile phone. Online shopping and online transaction
are now done mainly through mobile phones, which make people easy
preys to the cyber crime of vishing. These thefts are generally
identity thefts in nature, relating to credit numbers, and other
secretive information.
Smishing: The Short Message Service (SMS), which we often resort to on
our mobile phones for communication, can often pose a threat to the
secretive information we share using the medium. This information can
therefore be misused later on by hackers against us, thereby posing a
threat to our security, and also to the people with whom we are
communicating, as it involves access to information which were meant
to be secretive in nature.
Malware: It is one of the most common yet deadliest software’s
designed to carry out activities of malicious nature using the
infected device. It makes its way into mobile phones by means of
browsing or files sharing, and after entering the device indulges in
rampant unwanted use of the cell – phone even without personalized use
of the owner.
STATISTICAL DATA RELATING TO CYBER –

As per Official Reports from National Crime Records Bureau

9,622 cases were reported under cyber – crimes head with an increase
rate of 69% from 2013 to 2014. 2014 also saw 1,879 out of 9,622
reported cases under Special and Local Laws being reported under the
head of cyber – crimes. It was also reported that out of 4,246 cases
3,131 cases relating to the Information and Technology Act, 2000 were
due to publication or transmission of sexually explicit content under
Section 67(a) to 67(c) of the IT Act 2000.
The alarming numbers are that 52.7% of the aggregate offenders
belonged to the age group of 18 years and 30 years. The matter of fact
being, such cyber – crimes being committed in relatively urban states
like Maharashtra (19.5% of aggregate cyber – crimes committed
nationwide).

Interpretive Paradigm:
Since the early 1960s research evidence has been accumulating that
suggests that exposure to violence cell phones and on the internet
increases the risk of violent behavior on the user’s part just as
growing up in an environment filled with real violence increases the
risk of them behaving violently. In the current review this research
evidence is critically assessed, and the psychological theory that
explains why exposure to violence has detrimental effects for both the
short run and long run is elaborated. Finally, the size of the “media
violence effect” is compared with some other well known threats to
society to estimate how important a threat it should be considered.

These globe spanning electronic communication media have not really

introduced new psychological threats to children and teenagers, but
they have made it much harder to protect youth from the threats and
have exposed many more of them to threats that only a few might have
experienced before.

Conclusion:
The SIM verification/registration can help our society by reducing
crime perpetrated through cell phones using unregistered SIM card.
Also, it will strengthen the culpability in the abuse of anonymity in
prank calls, threats, malicious text and other mobile-related crimes.

References
http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/14/16/senate-pushes-for-nationwide-
sim-card-registration
http://news.mb.com.ph/2017/06/28/mandatory-sim-registration/
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2016/09/13/senators-push-
mandatory-registration-prepaid-sim-cards-497231
http://racolblegal.com/crimes-committed-through-mobile-phones/
http://www.cialfor.com/mobile-phone-related-crimes/
 ACTION RESEARCH
PAPER

TOPIC: MANDATORY SIM REGISTRATION

ISSUES: How can SIM
verification/registration help our society
especially in terms of criminal activities?
Submitted by:
Mary Joahna Litana
9 Andromeda