Mexico’s looming deadline to tie every mobile number to a verified person is pushing selfie-based identity verification into the daily experience of millions of phone users, even as regulators signal the cutoff may slip. Under a law enacted in January, cell phone numbers that are not linked to an individual and a government ID by June 30 are set to be suspended until the holder registers, according to the expat-information service Mexperience.
The scale of the task is large. Mexperience reports that Mexico has an estimated 127 million active lines and that the country’s telecommunications regulator, the Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones, has said more than 82 million remain unregistered. That gap has fueled an expectation that the deadline will be pushed to October, though Mexperience notes there has been no official government announcement to that effect.
For users registering online, the process leans on document and biometric checks. According to Mexperience, a person uploads a photo of a government-issued ID, then takes a live selfie and is asked to show their face from various angles so it can be matched against the ID, in a flow similar to the identity checks banks use for online onboarding. Mexican nationals can register with their INE voter card or a passport, while foreigners, whether visitors or legal residents, must use a passport. Individuals can register up to 10 numbers, and the registration system may also request a device’s IMEI number. Mexperience says any line activated on or after the January start date must be registered within 30 days, and that tourists who buy a local SIM or eSIM will have the number tied to their passport as part of activation. The service adds that suspended numbers are meant to be reactivated once a user registers, and that personal data collected during online registration is to be stored in line with Mexico’s data privacy laws.
The requirement adds Mexico to a growing list of countries folding identity verification into telecom sign-up. South Korea recently moved to make operators match a customer’s ID photo against a live facial scan during sign-up, initially exempting foreign residents, while Thailand has mandated biometric authentication for SIM registration to combat fraud. Mexperience also warns that the registration push has drawn scam text messages directing users to fake sites, and advises registering only through official carrier channels.
Sources: Mexperience
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
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