Germany to ban anonymous prepaid SIM cards

The German government has approved plans to ban the sale of anonymous prepaid SIM cards. The decision is part of new measures against terrorism. The measures should be in full force from 1 July 2017.

The package of measures also includes extra powers for security services to search provider databases with parts of names and other spellings of names. The services will also be given more capacity and will have to cooperate more with foreign secret services.

The measures were approved on Friday 29 July at the last minute of the summer recess, Heise writes. The providers of prepaid SIM card services have until 1 July 2017 to switch completely to purchasing prepaid SIM cards in combination with a valid ID.

The German Interior Ministry has said that the anonymous cards pose a major security risk because they are widely used by individuals working in criminal organizations or by terrorists. For example, the structures of the networks should become more visible.

The security services are also allowed to collect information about children from the age of 14 instead of 16 if there is a suspicion that they are radicalising.