Marrakech – In the recent parliamentary session, Ghita Mezzour, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, announced that the Moroccan government has given telecom companies a three-month deadline to identify all anonymous phone numbers, or face suspension of these unidentified lines.
Responding to questions from members of the House of Representatives, Mezzour emphasized that the legal framework regulating subscriptions to telecommunications services allows both individuals and institutions to benefit from the services provided by public telecommunications network operators.
However, she stressed that telecom operators are now obligated to identify their subscribers, including those who purchased SIM cards from various distributors, sellers, or commercial agents.
Mezzour revealed that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (ANRT) has taken a series of measures to curb the proliferation of anonymous phone numbers.
One of these key steps was issuing a decision related to identifying subscribers of mobile services. Under this decision, operators are required to update their subscriber database to make it more reliable and credible by including information such as the subscriber’s name, surname, ID number, and subscription date for each active number.
The minister highlighted that telecom operators have responded well to this process by complying with the provisions of the decision and implementing them on the ground. She also assured that Morocco has strong security agencies monitoring this issue, urging the public not to be worried.
Mezzour further disclosed that in recent weeks, a large number of anonymous numbers have been suspended in the telecommunications sector in Morocco.
Operators now have a three-month grace period to provide identity information for each phone number in their database, or face the suspension of the concerned SIM card.
This move by the government aims to enhance security and accountability in the telecommunications sector by ensuring that all phone numbers are properly identified and linked to their respective owners.
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