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Interior ministry to issue new national IDs with voice prints for iPhone users

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Interior ministry to issue new national IDs with voice prints for iPhone users image

The government has rescinded all national ID cards and documents belonging to iPhone users as of early March as part of its efforts to combat the seditious Clubhouse app, ordering all users of the Apple device to go to their nearest official department to update their personal information and record high-quality voice prints that will be linked to their unique national number.

In a statement, the interior ministry said the measures were necessary to “update databases with sufficient information to allow our local intelligence agencies to operate normally once again.”

In its latest guidance in the official gazette, the ministry said it would review the installation date of the app on each citizen’s phone in order to calculate delays in renewal and impose fines accordingly. 

IPhone holders who are under 16 years of age will be required to visit their local government department, which will issue them IDs for the first time, provided that they return every three months to record a new voice print until the age of 18, when their vocal cords will be more fully formed.

The government said the new rules will be inclusive of the voices of citizens in the diaspora, who will have to renew their passports and submit their voice prints at the nearest embassy or consulate.

The elderly and the infirm can appoint relatives to renew their documents on their behalf by providing at least three high quality voice notes that can be easily deciphered by government microphones.