The Indian government is stepping up its fight against spam and fraudulent activities in messaging services with new regulations set to roll out soon. Starting September 1, 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is enforcing stricter rules for access service providers to crack down on the misuse of SMS platforms.
One of the critical measures includes a ban on sending messages containing URLs, APKs, OTT links, or callback numbers that haven’t been pre-approved by the sender. This is a significant move to limit the spread of spam and potentially harmful links that flood people’s inboxes daily.
But the crackdown doesn’t stop there. By November 1, 2024, every message sent across these platforms must be traceable from the sender to the recipient. Any message that can’t be adequately traced or linked to an unclear telemarketer chain will be automatically blocked. It’s clear that the days of shady, untraceable SMS campaigns are numbered.
The government has outlined some strict consequences to ensure everyone plays by the rules. It will be blocked if a content template is registered under the wrong category. And if a sender keeps making mistakes, they could face a one-month suspension of their services. This highlights just how serious the authorities are about enforcing these new guidelines.
Additionally, TRAI is pushing for all headers and content templates to be correctly registered on the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. This will ensure everything is above board and compliant with the new standards. If any misuse is detected, access providers must immediately halt traffic from the offending sender until the issue is resolved legally.
Delivery telemarketers aren’t off the hook either. They must quickly identify and report any entities responsible for misuse within two business days. If they fail to do so, they could face penalties as well.
These new measures come from a recent government directive targeting voice promotional calls from unregistered senders. The message is clear: the Indian government is determined to clean up the messaging space and protect consumers from the barrage of unwanted and potentially dangerous communications.
