Truecaller clashes with TRAI over spam call regulation
Truecaller, a caller ID firm, has criticized the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its attempt to regulate the company's spam call filtering. Truecaller claims that the regulation has led to a significant increase in spam calls, with over 51 million calls going unanswered daily. The company has introduced a 'Frequently Blocked' badge to label suspicious calls, including those from whitelisted numbers.
Key points
- Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala accused TRAI of overstepping its authority in regulating apps to whitelist promotional and banking calls.
- Truecaller claims that whitelisting these numbers has led to a 'significant' increase in spam calls, with over 51 million calls going unanswered daily.
- The company has introduced a 'Frequently Blocked' badge to label suspicious calls, including those from whitelisted numbers.
- Banks have been using the sanctioned series of numbers to reach out to customers with loan and credit offers.
- TRAI has taken exception to Truecaller's labelling of calls from these series and has written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Truecaller, a caller ID firm, has found itself at odds with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) over the regulation of spam calls. According to Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala, the company has been mandated to whitelist promotional and banking calls, which have been assigned 140- and 160-series numbers respectively. However, Truecaller claims that this has led to a significant increase in spam calls, with over 51 million calls going unanswered daily.
The company has taken matters into its own hands by introducing a 'Frequently Blocked' badge to label suspicious calls, including those from whitelisted numbers. This move has been seen as a direct challenge to TRAI's authority, which has taken exception to Truecaller's labelling of calls from these series. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been informed of TRAI's concerns, but it remains to be seen how this dispute will be resolved.
The issue at hand is the regulation of spam calls, which has been a long-standing concern for consumers. Truecaller's actions have sparked a debate over the balance between consumer protection and the rights of businesses to reach out to customers. As the situation unfolds, it will be interesting to see how TRAI and Truecaller resolve their differences and what impact this will have on the regulation of spam calls in India.
Sources
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