On April 16, 2021, the Federal Executive published in the Official Gazette of the Federation the DECREE amending and supplementing various provisions of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law (the “Decree”), establishing an obligation on the Federal Telecommunications Institute (“IFT”) to incorporate into its current Public Registry of Telecommunications a new National Registry of Mobile Telephony Users (the “National Registry”).
The amendment to the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law in question requires that, whether to contract new telephony services or to continue providing preexisting services, each concessionaire of telephony services collect certain information and personal data of its customers-holders of mobile telephony lines in order to transfer them to the IFT and thereby build the National Registry. In general terms, the data comprising the National Registry fall into two categories: on the one hand, data related to the mobile telephony line, such as the line number, the date and time of activation, and the payment scheme of said line; and, on the other hand, certain personal data of the customer-holder of the line, such as their home address, official identification number or CURP, and, notably, their biometric data. Undoubtedly, the matter of registering the biometric data of customers-holders of mobile telephony lines in the National Registry is one of the most controversial points of the reform carried out through the Decree, since its incorporation into a massive database controlled by the government (as the National Registry is) brings us closer to countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in which the authorities require citizens to hand over biometric data as a condition for having access to a mobile telephone line. The Decree justifies the registration of the biometric data of customers-holders of mobile telephony lines in the National Registry as a way to collaborate with security and justice authorities in the commission of crimes. However, this apparent purpose will hardly be achieved by means of the published reform, which, on the contrary, threatens to expose personal data—including biometric data—of millions of customers-holders of telephone lines in Mexico to unauthorized use thereof. The foregoing takes on special relevance if we consider that Mexico is one of the countries that suffers the most cyberattacks in the world and currently ranks eighth globally in the incidence of identity theft; not to mention the deficient regulation that currently exists in our country regarding the protection of biometric data, which, unlike foreign regulations on the matter, and particularly European regulations, does not expressly recognize biometric data as sensitive information whose processing warrants restricted and special protection. It would not be surprising for the data comprising the National Registry, including biometric data, to be commercialized in a manner similar to what occurred with other types of public registries such as the electoral registry, with all the risks that such a situation entails for the holders of the registered personal data. Certainly, populating the National Registry with the biometric data of customers-holders of mobile telephony lines is not a proportionate measure to guarantee the ends the reform pursues, as it undermines the constitutional protection of the privacy and protection of the individual's personal data, and in turn places our Rule of Law at risk. Faced with this scenario, all that remains is for the judiciary to grant its protection (amparo) to the customers-holders who challenge this new reform, as some federal judges have already done by granting a provisional stay so that the personal data of the complaining customers-holders is not registered in the National Registry. For additional information, contact our experts: Luis Burgueño, Partner: +52 (55) 5258-1003 | lburgueno@vwys.com.mx Gloria Martínez, Counsel: +52 (55) 5258-1014 | gmartinez@vwys.com.mx Rubén Villegas, Associate: +52 (55) 5258-1003 | rvillegas@vwys.com.mx
