JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communication and Digital issued the Regulation of the Minister of Communication and Digital (Permenkomdigi) Number 7 of 2026 which requires the registration of mobile phone numbers using biometrics.
This rule was created to prevent various types of fraud, including spam and misuse of personal data. By using biometrics, the identity of the number owner can be ensured to be authentic and difficult to be used irresponsibly.
Minister of Communication and Digital, Meutya Hafid, said that this policy is not just a normal administrative procedure. According to him, registration is an important stage to provide real protection for the public in the digital space.
"Registration of telecommunications services customers must be carried out with the principle of accurate and responsible customer identification (KYC)," said Meutya when attending an event in Switzerland, quoted on Saturday, January 24.
In this new regulation, the government requires all prepaid cards to be distributed in an inactive state. Activation can only be done after the user performs a validated registration process. That way, the circulation of 'fake' numbers can be prevented.
All Indonesian citizens are required to use NIK and biometric data when registering a mobile number. Meanwhile, foreign nationals only need to use a passport and residence permit to verify the number.
"For customers under the age of 17, registration is carried out by involving the identity and biometrics of the head of the family," added Meutya.
The government also limits the ownership of prepaid numbers. Each individual is only allowed to have three different numbers on one operator. When the operator detects the registration of the fourth number on the same NIK, the registration will not be successful.
Telecommunications service providers must also now provide a platform to check numbers. Users can monitor all numbers registered in their name and request blocking if illegal use is found.
If mobile operators are proven to violate these registration provisions, they will be subject to administrative sanctions. In line with this new policy, old customers registered using the manual system will be required to re-register based on biometrics.
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