MOSCOW, August 8 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law limiting the maximum number of mobile numbers for one subscriber: citizens of the Russian Federation will be able to obtain no more than 20 SIM cards, foreigners — no more than 10. The corresponding document is posted on the portal of official publication of legal acts.
According to the law, a contract for the provision of communication services with a foreigner can only be concluded in person, provided that his data is available in the Unified Biometric System. In addition, it will be mandatory for foreigners to include in the contract the IMEI code for identifying the device used (phone, tablet, laptop) and to indicate in the contract information about employment relations with legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, if a so-called «service» SIM card is used. Cash payment for communication services by a foreigner is made after the payer has been identified.
< br />By July 1, 2025, telecom operators are required to bring their contracts with foreigners into compliance, otherwise, they will not provide communications services to foreigners. At the same time, by November 1, 2025, telecom operators must check information about Russian citizens, including subscribers and corporate users.
In addition, restrictions are being introduced on the maximum number of mobile numbers for one subscriber, not only for foreigners, but also for citizens of the Russian Federation. Thus, no more than 10 SIM cards can be issued to a foreign citizen, and no more than 20 SIM cards to a citizen of the Russian Federation. At the same time, Russians will be able to find out how many mobile numbers are registered to them through the government services portal, and, if necessary, suspend their service.
The law also introduces a number of innovations in the field of messengers and popular bloggers. Thus, it provides for the obligation of messenger owners to provide information about their users upon request of Roskomnadzor, and also to prevent messenger users from receiving messages and calls from unknown numbers.
Owners of blogs or social media channels with more than 10,000 subscribers will now be required to provide information about themselves to Roskomnadzor. Failure to verify a page or channel on a social network will result in a ban on advertising on such a page. As State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein explained, there is no talk of blocking channels without identification, but such «anonymous» users will not be able to place ads, collect «donations», and their posts will not have to be reposted by other channels.
In addition, the law establishes the obligation of the owner of a social network, access to which during the day is more than 500 thousand users located in the territory of the Russian Federation, to provide information about the user of the social network upon request of Roskomnadzor or the FSB of Russia. The composition of the information and the procedure for its provision are established by the Government of the Russian Federation.
The law shall enter into force on the day of its official publication, with the exception of provisions for which other terms of entry into force have been established.