On Wednesday, Truecaller criticized directives from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that prevent the app from showing spam alerts for numbers in the 140 and 160 series. These series were introduced last year for authorized telemarketing and banking calls with user consent.
Earlier, the company had welcomed government efforts against spam and shared fraud data with officials. Tensions rose when TRAI moved to stop labels on the designated series. In February, TRAI created these series under updated commercial communication rules. Later, draft changes sought to block spam warnings on authorized calls.
Truecaller already displays green badges for these numbers but added a frequently blocked label after recording over one lakh blocks daily. In April, the firm warned that the proposed rules might fail legal review. TRAI has sought authority from the IT ministry to oversee caller ID services.
Truecaller CEO stated the measures make little sense and could aid spammers by limiting community data. TRAI aims to promote legitimate channels and reduce unregistered spam, though the company reports users ignored most calls from these series. Separately, TRAI has pushed for caller name display using registered details. Other agencies have also issued rules affecting messaging apps and data practices.
