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The reason is that the law in Switzerland requires identification of the user of free internet services [1]. So it is not just common practice

[1] https://www.gva.ch/Site/Passagers/Shopping/Services/Business...

That's a funny choice, I thought Europe was done with SMS. I can see this 1-to-1 mapping with other cellphone derived messaging like Whatsapp, etc being an issue for privacy but it's certainly possible to have multiple phones.

How would an SMS code sent to a phone number be traced to the specific user? Anonymous VOIP numbers are plentiful.

I imagine they would block anonymous VOIP numbers.

You need to show identification to get a SIM card.

You can't receive the text message without cellular service.

I had to show my passport to get a SIM card.

Anonymous SIM cards are available e.g. https://www.phreeli.com/