Trai meets OTT platforms over measures to curb pesky calls, phishing

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) held a meeting with WhatsApp, Telegram, Meta and Google to devise measures to check pesky calls and messages, and phishing attempts

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) held a meeting with over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Meta, and Google on Monday to devise measures to check pesky calls and messages, and phishing attempts.

Officials said the regulatory body will not disclose the details so as not to alert fraudsters, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).

A senior Trai official said, “We will have a collaborative effort with the OTT players. They will do the due diligence on the issues pointed out by us. Broadly, the platforms agree on the pain points.”

The official added that presently there are no available plans to regulate apps or take punitive measures.

These OTT platforms have said that they will increase consumer awareness as it can be a barrier in checking phishing attempts, the official said, according to the ET report.

Trai will hold regular meetings with the OTT players to finalise a workable solution.

Another official said that Trai is analysing how the OTTs can integrate themselves into the system proposed by the regulator to check spam and phishing.

WhatsApp has devoted efforts to empower users with resources and tools that equip them to safeguard themselves from instances of spam and scams.