TRAI Unveils AI-Powered Consent Platform to Tackle Spam Calls and Protect Users

To reduce spam calls, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has started a pilot initiative to develop a digital permission management system.

The regulator will verify the technical, operational, and regulatory aspects of a digital consent registration function as part of the project. To test this framework, TRAI has enlisted a few banks and telecom providers in collaboration with the RBI.

According to the regulator, because of the "sensitivity of banking transactions and cases of financial fraud through spam calls", the banking industry would be given priority during the initial phase of implementation.

The digital consent management platform will be gradually scaled up across industries thanks to the pilot project, which will be operationalised within a regulatory sandbox.

Operating inside a regulatory sandbox environment, the pilot will evaluate the technical, operational, and regulatory aspects of the expanded Consent Registration Function (CRF) and set the stage for sector-wise scaling of the digital consent ecosystem, according to a statement from TRAI.

The Goal-Safeguarding Consumer Interest and Enhancing Trust

The initiative is in line with the telecom regulator's overarching objective of protecting consumer interests and boosting confidence in legal commercial communications, the agency stated.

In order to guarantee open practices throughout the ecosystem, TRAI further stated that it intends to keep collaborating with sectoral regulators and stakeholders. The creation of a digital consent management platform coincides with an increase in unsolicited messages and spam calls that consumers are receiving.

The increase in such communications by companies from which a customer has already bought goods or services was noted by the regulator in the statement. Businesses claimed to have customer consent, according to TRAI.

However, offline or unverifiable methods are frequently used to obtain this consent. Further explaining, TRAI stated that it is very challenging to determine the legality and authenticity of these consents because they were frequently obtained offline or through unverifiable methods.

Customers have complained on multiple occasions that the businesses obtained their mobile numbers for this purpose through deceit, fraud, or unauthorised data-sharing.

Many Initiatives Taken by the Regulator to Address Such Issues

The regulator has taken a number of actions in recent months to address these problems. Some of the initiatives are now allowing telecom users to file complaints against unregistered telemarketers and starting the process of disconnecting telecom resources that are being utilised for spam.

In order to obtain consent digitally and onboard companies delivering commercial messages, TRAI also started a project last year to create a safe and compatible digital consent register that will be managed by telecoms.

The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, were also modified by the regulator in February of this year in an effort to reduce annoying spam calls.

According to the new regulations, telcos that violate the guidelines could face fines of up to INR 10 lakh. Telecom companies reportedly protested when TRAI loosened its strict deadlines a month later.

In connection with financial irregularities, TRAI and the telecom department blocked 1 Cr mobile connections together last year.