The Chairman of TRAI, Anil Kumar Lahoti, announced that the organization is preparing to launch a pilot project this month that aims to incorporate paper-based permissions and previously granted consents from customers for commercial communications into its digital distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. He explained that this long-term initiative will involve validating these consents, updating their statuses, and providing options for customers who wish to opt out of receiving such communications.
Lahoti further mentioned that the organization intends to implement tighter regulations to combat spam and is planning a new consultation to explore an authorization framework for telemarketers in the near future. He emphasized that one of TRAI's key objectives is to focus on acquiring digital consent, noting that while existing regulations support this goal (such as TCCCPR), the challenge lies in managing legacy consents.
He pointed out that many consents are still recorded on paper or stored in outdated systems belonging to principal entities, making it difficult to integrate them into the DLT without disregarding their validity.
The Chairman expressed the desire to collaborate with all stakeholders to develop a practical solution for onboarding and validating existing consents without causing disruptions. He added that currently, if customers receive unsolicited messages or calls and file complaints about spam, service providers can counter their claims by stating they have prior consent documented on paper, although this consent is not recorded in the system. Lahoti revealed that TRAI aims to consolidate all these consents onto the DLT platform.
He also raised the issue of facilitating the onboarding process for these legacy consents, ensuring consumers have the option to opt out if they did not provide such consent.
The pilot, which is set to launch in January, will involve select service providers and principal entities responsible for developing and testing methods to transition legacy consents onto the DLT. He noted that a cutoff date would be established to invalidate legacy and paper-based consents, acknowledging that this process is expected to be extensive and time-consuming.
In addition, TRAI plans to introduce new and stricter regulations for spam control within a month, following a discussion paper released in August regarding the review of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018.
This discussion sought stakeholder input on possibly implementing higher tariffs for calls and texts that exceed a specified limit in a tiered structure.
Regarding recent inquiries from the Department of Telecom about the clarity on telcos' bank guarantee encashment aimed at recovering fines for violations of anti-spam regulations, Lahoti confirmed that TRAI identified the specific license clauses that had been breached and informed the DoT of these violations, indicating that the DoT now needs to take action, including addressing outstanding financial penalties related to these issues.
ALSO READ: Jio delivers significant savings with free Netflix for 84 days on two plans featuring free calling
Inputs from PTI
