Mexico’s Cell Phone Registration Program Faces New Backlash Over Automatic Line Linking

Mexico City – With less than a month before Mexico’s mandatory mobile phone registration deadline, the program is facing new controversy after some customers of Movistar, Izzi, and AT&T reported that their phone lines were linked to their CURP or passport information without their express consent.

Mexico’s mobile phone registration requirement applies to all Mexican-issued cell phone lines, including prepaid and postpaid accounts. Existing users must complete the process by June 30, 2026, or face service suspension beginning July 1. The federal government says the measure is intended to reduce crimes committed with anonymous phone numbers, including extortion, fraud, and virtual kidnapping.

But as the deadline approaches, the rollout has raised fresh questions about privacy, transparency, and the use of personal data already held by mobile providers.

According to reporting by Expansión, Mexico’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission authorized Movistar, operated by Telefónica, and Izzi to complete registration for certain postpaid customers using information the companies already had on file. The approval reportedly allowed the companies to link lines without asking customers to submit documents again or complete an individual registration process.

The companies argued that postpaid customers had already provided identifying documents and personal information when opening their accounts. In Movistar’s case, the company reportedly told regulators it could carry out the process directly because the required information was already in its possession. Izzi made a similar argument, saying its mobile service is often bundled with internet, cable television, and landline packages where customer information had already been collected.

The controversy is not limited to those two companies. AT&T customers have also reported receiving text messages stating that their lines were already linked to their CURP and that no further action was needed. Expansión reported that AT&T had not publicly commented on the complaints at the time of publication.

For consumers, the central issue is not necessarily whether their line was successfully registered. It is whether their personal data was used for a new purpose without a clear request, notice, or opportunity to refuse.

The registration program has already struggled with low participation. As of June 1, roughly 52.3 million mobile lines had been linked, representing about one-third of the estimated 160 million lines in the country. The government has so far maintained that there will be no extension to the June 30 deadline.

Telecommunications attorney Jorge Moreno Loza told Expansión that the automatic linking policy could open the door to legal challenges, including individual complaints before PROFECO, class actions, or amparo injunctions from users who believe their personal data was used without proper consent.

For residents and long-term visitors in the Riviera Maya, the issue is especially relevant. Many foreigners living in Mexico rely on Mexican phone numbers for banking, WhatsApp, deliveries, medical offices, government appointments, and daily services. Foreign users are also subject to the registration requirement if they use a Mexican-issued cell number, though the process may require a valid passport rather than a CURP, depending on the provider and account type.

Users with Movistar, Izzi, or AT&T should check their recent SMS messages and carrier accounts to see whether their lines have already been linked. If a line was registered automatically and the customer has concerns, the first step is to contact the carrier directly and ask what data was used, when the line was linked, and what options exist to correct or unlink information.

The broader debate is unlikely to disappear before the deadline. What began as a public security measure has now become a national privacy dispute, with millions of users still unregistered and many others asking whether compliance came at the cost of consent.