SIM binding rule splits tech firms and telecom companies down the middle

Days after the department of telecommunications (DoT) directed communication apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal to bar users without active SIM cards from accessing their services, tech companies and industry bodies including the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and the Broadband India Forum (BIF) have pushed back against the move.

Telecom operators, however, have welcomed the ‘SIM binding’ rule, terming it a “necessary security measure”. The government’s own justification for mandating SIM binding is that it would curb cyber fraud.