The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been actively combating the issue of spam in the country. In the past, TRAI has even imposed fines on certain telecom operators for failing to adhere to India’s anti-spam regulations. Now, TRAI has issued a fresh set of guidelines to address the problem of promotional calls and SMS in India. According to the updated regulations, Indian cellular networks are now mandated to secure user consent, thus preventing unauthorized entities from sending promotional and spam messages.
TRAI’s Latest Measures Against Spam
A few weeks ago, TRAI initiated the Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA) program, which mandated that cellular providers in India must obtain individual users’ consent before sending promotional messages. The program aimed to create a unified platform to manage user consent for all marketing messages.
However, the telecom operators failed to comply with these directives issued on June 2, 2023. In response, TRAI imposed a fine of INR 1 crore on both Airtel and Vi for their non-compliance. In light of this, TRAI has now introduced new guidelines stipulating that telecom operators must secure user consent on an agency-by-agency basis. For instance, if agency A wishes to send promotional messages to a user, they must first request the telecom operator to obtain consent from the user.
Users will then receive an SMS with a unique short code beginning with 127xxx, which will outline the purpose, extent of consent, and the agency or brand’s name. Users are required to respond to this SMS by either granting or denying consent. If the user declines permission, the cellular operator will block agency A from sending any further messages to the user.
This procedure mandates that every individual organization or agency seeks separate consent from the user. TRAI also mandates the development of an online portal where users can revoke any previously granted consent. Initially, these new DCA rules will be enforced for SMS, with plans to apply a similar model to calls in the future. These regulations are effective immediately, and telecom operators must promptly adhere to them. TRAI also stipulates that all consents obtained prior to this notification are no longer valid.
TRAI offers a dedicated application named “TRAI DND 3.0” available on the Google Play Store, designed to identify spam calls and SMS. Users can install this app on their Android devices and report any promotional messages they receive. TRAI will then collaborate with the respective cellular operators to take appropriate measures. While spam in India has presented an ongoing challenge, TRAI’s new DCA rules are expected to make significant improvements to the situation.
