Govt forms panel to draft guidelines on issue of unsolicited calls

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Government on Thursday said it has formed a committee to draft guidelines to address the issue of pesky/promotional or unsolicited calls received by consumers as it violates their privacy. The decision was taken in a meeting held on February 14 here under the Chairmanship of Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh to discuss the issues related to pesky/promotional/unsolicited commercial calls. “To address the issue of pesky/promotional or unsolicited commercial calls received by the consumers, the Department of Consumer Affairs has constituted a Committee...,” an official statement said.

 

The panel comprises members from the cellular industry, regulatory bodies -- including the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), and Cellular Operations Association of India (COAI) -- and telemarketing companies to draft the guidelines. In the meeting, issues related to pesky / promotional / unsolicited commercial calls were discussed. “It was observed that these calls not only violate the privacy of users but also the rights of the consumers. Most of such calls are from the financial services sector followed by real estate,” the statement said. In the meeting, it was also pointed out that spam callers are now switching to internet calls, especially using WhatsApp to lure customers into Ponzi schemes, crypto investments and offer job opportunities. Efforts have already been made by the DoT and Trai to address the issue related to spam messages and pesky calls from registered telemarketers.

 

The telemarketers have been advised to get their business entity, sender IDs and SMS templates on DLT platforms. DLT platforms are operator-run portals, where businesses need to register by giving their details. Trai has released new guidelines for the Bulk SMS Service Industry by introducing DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) - a blockchain-based registration system that will maintain the record of all transactions made by business entities. The sole objective of Trai DLT regulations is to bring transparency to the system, counter the menace of SMS spam and protect consumers from fraudulent practices.