The Indian government has introduced stricter penalties for telecom service providers who fail to implement revised regulations aimed at combating unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) and SMS spam. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) amended the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018, to tackle new methods of telecom misuse and promote transparency in commercial communication.
Under the new rules, telecom providers face fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh for the first violation to Rs 10 lakh for subsequent violations for misreporting UCC counts. This will apply separately to registered and unregistered senders. Additionally, fines will be imposed on providers for invalid complaint closures and failure to fulfill obligations related to message header registrations and content templates.
The amendments aim to ensure that legitimate commercial communications are carried out by registered entities, based on customer consent, while also promoting legitimate economic activities. The revised regulations also make it easier for consumers to file complaints against spam calls and messages, removing the need to first register preferences for blocking such communications.
Consumers can now lodge complaints within seven days of receiving spam, up from the previous three-day limit. The time frame for access providers to act on complaints has been reduced from 30 days to 5 days. Furthermore, the threshold for triggering action against UCC senders has been lowered from 10 complaints in 7 days to 5 complaints in 10 days, allowing for faster responses and broader coverage of spammers.
These changes are expected to enhance consumer protection, foster a more secure digital communication environment, and improve the transparency of commercial communications in India.
