Armenia's IMEI mobile phone registration system will not be introduced unless guarantees are in place to ensure that citizens' personal data are neither collected nor misused, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said after a government meeting.

"If there are no guarantees that we will not collect or use people's personal data, we will not implement this system. At the same time, we expect the expert community to tell us how it is possible to combat the shadow market. Armenia has a shadow market worth billions in mobile phone trade, and those making billions from it will now spend hundreds of millions on lobbying, claiming that people's personal data will be collected. We will be fully transparent and open on this issue," Pashinyan said, according to Sputnik Armenia.

According to the prime minister, if the state wanted to collect personal data, it could always find other ways to do so, and citizens might not even be aware of it.

"People bring phones into the country in their pockets, and there are no restrictions. Should we start checking everyone's pockets one by one? Then you would say this is an authoritarian country because it searches people's pockets. How long can we keep pretending that nothing is happening in the country?" he said.

Pashinyan also noted that many European countries already operate similar systems that help prevent the shadow trade in mobile phones.

Under a government decision, Armenia will introduce a unified system for registering mobile phone IMEI codes. Beginning on January 1, 2027, individuals importing mobile phones will have to register IMEI codes online and pay a state fee. Mobile operators will suspend or terminate service for devices with unregistered IMEI codes.