How are TRAI and the government fighting spam?

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) plans to use distributed ledger technology (DLT) to register spam preferences from customers.

• The DND registry, implemented in 2007, enforces customer preferences for commercial calls.

• TRAI collaborated with an external agency to develop a DND app for customers to register their DND preference and accept complaints.

• Telemarketers who call or send messages to DND-registered customers receive warnings, and if enough warnings accumulate, they are blacklisted from sending messages to telecom operators.

• In 2024, TRAI mandated that DND reporting be available on every telecom provider’s app.

• Blockchain technology is used to store a constantly-updated list of approved senders of SMS messages.

• Firms like Airtel have declared suspicious calls using Artificial Intelligence as “Suspected Spam,” a move replicated by other telcos.

• The regulations were tightened in 2024 to ensure “traceability” of messages, preventing anyone from registering on blockchain solutions and sending out fraudulent or spam messages.

• While the measures have been effective, the wave of digitisation has increased incentives to get around the protections against commercial messaging and calling.

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the Sanchar Saathi portal, partnered with law enforcement, banks, and other stakeholders to accept reports of “suspected fraudulent” calls and messages.

• The DoT has also set up the Telecom Security Operation Centre at its New Delhi headquarters to monitor suspicious internet traffic in real time.