Today at 01:09
The Russian authorities are preparing a new stage of tightening control over mobile communications – this time through the mandatory registration of mobile phones in a state database, UATV English informs.
This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on Telegram.
“The Russian Ministry of Digital Development plans to launch a unified register of IMEI numbers – unique mobile phone numbers. From 2027, IMEI numbers will be strictly linked to subscriber numbers, and from 2028, only devices that are included in the state database will be able to connect to the network,” the report says.
In effect, this means that it will be impossible to use a SIM card in an “unregistered” phone. The initiative is presented as technical market regulation, but in practice it creates an infrastructure for the total registration of mobile devices.
As noted, such registration in Russia will be mandatory and paid, and the state will also receive an additional source of income from citizens.
The CCD emphasized that in today’s totalitarian Russia, mobile communications are ceasing to be a private service and are becoming an element of state surveillance. Under the pretext of “order” and “security,” the authorities are tightening control over citizens’ communications, gradually moving toward a model of complete information isolation.
As reported earlier, Russia is preparing a complete blockade of YouTube, which will be the next stage in the systematic digital isolation of the Russian population.
Read also: NATO Secretary General Highlights Poland’s “Critically Important” Support for Ukraine
