Legal implications on TRAI regulations 2024 on Spam Calls

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 23-Feb-2024 had advised the Government of India (GOI) to make caller identification (caller ID) a mandatory feature across all domestic cell phone networks Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Jio etc.

This is a welcome step by TRAI. Viewing the Calling Name Representation (CNAP) of the person calling allows the call receiver to identify the caller and decide whether or not to pick the phone call. This feature will bring an end to the menace of spam and scam calls in India. Commonly used apps such as Truecaller, help identify the unknown person calling. But the problem without the CNAP feature is that such apps viz. Truecaller use crowd-sourced data applications, which are not always reliable.

In India’s Digital Data Protection Act, 2023 (yet to be made effective) the protection of privacy of a person is paramount, and the term “Personal Data” defined as "any data about an individual who is identifiable by or in relation to such data" will include all personal identification information such as name, address, phone numbers, Aadhaar, PAN card, Passport, etc. The Telcos would be flouting the DPDP Act if they share any person’s phone numbers to a third party without taking prior consent.

Given that the rules of DPDP Act are yet to be notified, the procedure for seeking such consent is unclear but a recommended procedure should cover the following:

1. describe nature and purpose of collecting data;
2. manner of exercising the rights of cell phone subscriber and;
3. process of filing complaints with the (proposed) Data Protection Board of India (DPBI).

The GOI has informed Telecom operators to begin trial of caller ID Services. The CNAP (Calling Name Presentation) is a method to curb spam and fraud calls, which have seen a marked increase in recent times. Few of the Telcos viz. Jio, Airtel have already begun trials on limited numbers as and are assessing the feasibility of CNAP, wherein not only the number of who is calling, but also the name of the caller will be displayed during incoming calls.

However various Telcos have opposed this move as this will increase the technical issues that will arise for Telecom Companies to comply with such as:

• Increase the load on signalling and;
• Impact on latency and interconnection-related issues

The rising spam call frauds in the country, the government has finally introduced a new number series specifically for transactional and service voice calls. As per a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) release, all transactional and service voice calls from financial entities will have 160 as a prefix.

Once implemented, the new 160 mobile number series will help in the easy identification of calling entity and will prevent duping of innocent citizens from fraudsters. This series has been implemented for entities regulated by RBI, IRDAI & PFRDA. Later it will expand to banks and other financial institutions as well as telecom service providers.

The government has also implemented a new 140 number series specifically for transactional and service voice calls from financial institutions. This initiative aims to help users identify legitimate calls and avoid falling victim to fraud. Similar regulations exist internationally, such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Internationally too, “personal data” includes telephone number, credit card number, bank account number, customer’s national identity number, address etc. which is generally included under the term “any information” as per EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In 2023, Indian Telcos had objected to implementation of CNAP citing (i) consent mechanism will be cumbersome and (ii) other technical issues such as increase in call set-up time and impact of latency, non-compatibility of handsets etc. But TRAI has not accepted these arguments on account of large number of victims of phishing, scams, spams etc. in India.

Conclusion

The TRAI regulations are right step to fight against spam calls. But these may not be enough and require a multi-pronged approach. Implementing mandatory CNAP feature is crucial to adhere to data privacy regulations in the DPDP Act (yet to be made effective). Consumers should remain vigilant and report suspicious calls to Government Authorities

Authored by:

Rohit Jain, Managing Partner and Atharv Gupta, Associate at Singhania & Co.