Kenya: Facts – Kenya’s New SIM Rules and the Biometric Data Controversy

Nairobi — Kenya’s newly revised SIM-card registration rules have generated public anxiety after it emerged that the law’s definition of “biometric data” explicitly lists deeply sensitive identifiers such as DNA profiles, retinal scans, fingerprinting, voice recognition and even earlobe geometry.

But while these terms appear in the definitions section of the Kenya Information and Communications (Registration of Telecommunications Service Subscribers) Regulations, 2025, they do not translate into…