Vinculación de líneas móviles con la CURP: vigilancia, privacidad e identidad digital en México

This essay, framed within the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) perspective, examines the mandatory registration of mobile phone lines linked to the CURP (Unique Population Registry Code) in Mexico, through an exploration of regulations, judicial rulings, technical documents, and academic literature. It traces the trajectory of three registration initiatives: RENAUT (2009–2012), PANAUT (2021—invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2022), and the current framework established by the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law and the guidelines from the telecommunications regulatory authority (2025–2026). What data is recorded? Who safeguards it? Who has access to it? Four types of information are identified: the holder’s identity, traffic data, location, and the content of communications. Drawing on concepts such as society, culture, surveillance capitalism, contextual integrity, and technological co-production, the essay argues that this registration is a sociotechnical decision—not a neutral or purely technical act, but a political and social one—that reconfigures power relations by shifting the burden of proving identity onto the users. The result is not the interception of conversations, but rather the linking of existing metadata—already being collected—to the locations of identified individuals. The risk lies not in the state-run database itself, but in the lack of clear rules regarding access, data retention, and transparency. Comparative evidence does not show a reduction in crime; instead, the policy produces unequal, asymmetric effects and encourages practices of evasion. The text concludes by calling for public evaluation and data governance, supported by verifiable controls.