DISCUSSIONS on a law to regulate prepaid phones in a way that will make it obligatory for users to provide their personal details have stalled due to delays by telecoms companies to submit financial data.
“We are seeking more details from telecommunications companies to prepare the law for approval,” said DIKO MP Angelos Votsis.
The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) and MTN have expressed their reservations over the proposal, while they have delayed presenting parliament with details on the financial benefits of their pay-as-you-go phones, the House Communications and Works Committee heard..
“We asked to be told how much these so-called anonymous phones cost compared to contract phones, but we haven’t been told yet. We feel the tariffs are much higher than contracts, from what we’ve been told, but we want facts,” said Votsis.
“Regulating this matter will have many more benefits than financial or violations of personal data laws. We are moving ahead, most government services support our proposal and next Tuesday we hope to wrap up discussions and send it to the plenum for approval.”
On Monday, the Attorney-general held a meeting at his office to discuss the matter, in the presence among others of the Police Chief and according to what was heard at the Committee, the relevant state services have expressed their approval for the proposed law.
Andreas Fakontis of AKEL said the law would be a significant step in the right direction for combating telephone harassment as well as a number of crimes.
“However, the proposal seems to affect personal data laws and it won’t resolve the problem completely. There will still be the possibility of getting pre-paid SIM cards from other European states, which can be used in Cyprus.”
Fakontis added that the law needed to be examined with great care before it is approved. “We need to examine the positives and negatives of this proposal before we make a final decision on how to vote on it. Even though it may restrict these problems, it won’t combat them altogether and we need to see if it is worth coming into contradiction with personal data laws.”
