Government to Strengthen Rules Against Spam Calls: Trai Chief
Centre plans to tighten regulations against spam calls, says Trai chief Anil Kumar Lahoti, aiming to curb unsolicited communications
New Delhi: The government on Wednesday said that the Centre would review and strengthen regulations to curb pesky, spam calls, according to telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chief Anil Kumar Lahoti. The crackdown on pesky calls has figured high on the agenda of the regulator, and it has been hardening its stance on the issue, amid rising consumer complaints around unsolicited communications from unauthorised telemarketers. “We had an interaction with service providers on spam calls and that is the next thing on our table. We will work seriously. We will plug any loopholes that people are finding in existing regulations to tighten (the checks on) spam call issue," Lahoti said on the sidelines of India SatCom 2024 organised by Broadband India Forum (BIF).
Trai on Tuesday held a meeting and conveyed a strong message to service providers and their telemarketers to take effective measures to curb bulk communications using voice calls. As part of the crackdown, the regulator has sought proactive action from all the stakeholders specially access telecom service providers and their delivery telemarketers.
The immediate action sought includes implementing technical solutions for traceability and preventing bulk calling by enterprise customers using 10-digit numbers. Asked about the rising instances of fraud and scams over calls, and actions that are being proposed, Lahoti said that a joint committee of regulators is working collectively to address the issue.
“The role of Trai comes in controlling spam calls. Where it is a fraudster or scammer...It also becomes an issue of law enforcement where the Ministry of Home Affairs. And the financial sector regulator also plays a role,” the Trai chief said.
Asked if raising the criminal liability could serve as an effective deterrent, he said, “We will review regulations to make it strong and very strict as far as control of spam or scam is concerned that falls in the domain of law,” he said.