Thu Sep 26 12:34:59 UTC 2024: ## TRAI Cracks Down on Spam, Over 3,000 Businesses Comply with URL Whitelisting Directives
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reported significant compliance with its directives aimed at curbing spam messages. Over 3,000 business entities have whitelisted the URLs they send as part of their messages, with over 70,000 links approved by the regulator. This follows TRAI’s August directive requiring telecom companies to block messages containing non-whitelisted URLs starting September 1, 2024.
While some businesses initially protested, citing difficulties in whitelisting dynamically generated URLs, TRAI has maintained its stance. The compliance deadline has been extended to October 1, 2024.
The crackdown on spam goes beyond URL whitelisting. Telecom companies are mandated to ensure all business messages are traceable starting November 1, 2024. Telemarketing messages without a clear chain of telemarketers will be rejected.
Further, TRAI has ordered telecom companies to suspend traffic from any business found misusing message templates or headers. Businesses are required to register their message headers and templates through the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform, established under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) 2018.
The regulations aim to create a more transparent and accountable messaging ecosystem, protecting consumers from unwanted spam and malicious activities. These measures are expected to significantly reduce the prevalence of unsolicited messages and fraudulent activity.
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