Amendments to the Communications Act follow: Prepaid card users will have to register, no more anonymous calls

(Patria) - At the proposal of the Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, the Council of Ministers of BiH adopted at today's session the Law on Amendments to the Communications Act, which introduces the obligation to register users of prepaid mobile telecommunications services (prepaid users).

These amendments close a legal loophole that until now allowed the use of prepaid SIM cards without user registration, which in practice made it difficult or impossible to conduct effective investigations. Namely, security and judicial institutions face serious limitations in identifying persons who use telecommunications services to commit criminal acts, since no formal subscriber relationship exists.

“This is a measure that strengthens the security of citizens and does not encroach on their privacy. We are not introducing surveillance of communication content, but rather the obligation to identify users, as is already the case with postpaid contracts,” stated Minister Forto, adding that he hopes the law will pass the parliamentary procedure as soon as possible.

The law also provides clear deadlines for implementation. The Communications Regulatory Agency of BiH is obliged to adopt a by-law within six months to regulate the registration procedure in detail, while operators have 18 months to register all existing prepaid users. Only after that deadline expires is the operator obliged to suspend service provision to a user who has not registered.

By adopting these amendments, Bosnia and Herzegovina responds to specific security challenges and strengthens the capacity of institutions for more effective investigations, while preserving the right to privacy.