Thursday, November 7, 2013
"The changes remove the need for a consumer to provide personal information twice – at the time of sale and when activating the service online or over the phone," said ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman. "It is also expected the new options for identity verification will provide greater efficiencies and reduced transaction costs for industry."
The ACMA's rules offer service providers with choices as to how identities can be verified. The new methods include:
The new rules are also expected to protect individuals' privacy by minimizing the amount of personal information service providers can collect. For example, the rules would prohibit a mobile telecommunications firm from recording from a government document an individual's passport number or driver's license used in the verification process. "They can only use the information to check that the document is valid against a secure database," the ACMA said.
The agency is furthermore providing exemptions from ID verification procedures during emergency situations so that individuals can easily access mobile prepaid services when necessary.
The new rules were developed by a working group led by ACMA's portfolio department and included the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, the Attorney-General's Department, law enforcement agencies, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and the ACMA, and mobile telecommunication firms Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone Hutchison Australia.
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