Call management app Truecaller has criticised TRAI’s clarification, arguing that the regulator’s directive is being exploited by spammers. The company claims that around 5.25 lakh users flag calls from the 140 and 1600 series as spam every day, indicating widespread misuse of these number ranges.
TRAI recently reiterated through a press release that 140 and 1600 series numbers cannot be arbitrarily tagged as spam, as they are designated for promotional and transactional communications, respectively, PTI reported.
Responding to the clarification, Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala said the directive has inadvertently led to a rise in spam originating from these series.
“TRAI has issued a press release reiterating that 1600 and 140 series calls cannot be marked as spam by anyone. This is exactly what is leading to the surge in spam from those series. The data proves without a doubt that spammers are abusing this directive. Why not let us mark numbers from these series as spam if 5.25 lakh people are telling us that it is spam every single day?” Jhunjhunwala said.
The telecom regulator has also sought authorisation from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to take action against apps that violate its norms aimed at strengthening the fight against spam and fraudulent calls.
