Airtel's Gopal Vittal urges TRAI to regulate WhatsApp, other OTTs to curb spam

Gopal Vittal

Bharti Airtel has called on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to expand its regulatory framework to include over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram to tackle rising spam.

In a letter to TRAI secretary Atul Kumar Chaudhary, Airtel’s vice-chairman and managing director Gopal Vittal proposed extending the digital consent acquisition (DCA) framework to OTT platforms, enforcing Know Your Customer (KYC) verification for users, and integrating OTT services into the centralised spam blacklist system.

"While regulatory efforts have significantly reduced spam and unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) over SMS and voice, fraudsters are increasingly shifting to OTT communication platforms, which currently operate with minimal oversight," Vittal wrote.

Though TRAI has strengthened anti-spam rules through amendments to the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) 2018, these do not cover OTT messaging services.

Private telecom operators, including Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, have opposed TRAI’s latest spam-control measures, arguing they fail to address key concerns — mainly the exclusion of OTT platforms from regulatory purview.

Telecom companies argue that the surge in spam calls and messages via OTT platforms has led to a rise in financial fraud. During TRAI’s open house consultation, stakeholders pushed for regulations covering OTT communication services, warning that fraudsters exploit the lack of oversight, increasing risks of phishing, fraud, and security breaches.

In a February 17 statement, telcos also criticised the steep rise in penalties for non-compliance. They contend that telemarketers rather than telecom providers are responsible for most unsolicited commercial messages and should bear the primary liability.

Under the new framework, telecom operators face fines starting at Rs 2 lakh for an initial violation, escalating to Rs 5 lakh for a second offence and 10 lakh for further breaches. Persistent non-compliance could even result in service suspensions.

TRAI officials, however, clarified that OTT platforms fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which has been notified of these concerns.

Vittal reiterated that extending the DCA framework to digital communication platforms would help users manage consent for promotional messages. He also advocated for KYC verification on OTT platforms to improve user accountability and traceability. Additionally, Airtel urged TRAI to push for global standards to prevent calling line identification (CLI) spoofing, a common tactic used in telecom fraud.

To further enhance consumer protection, Vittal called for a comprehensive regulatory framework that includes licensing requirements and strict penalties for principal entities (PEs) and telemarketers (TMs), stressing that telecom service providers merely act as intermediaries while PEs and TMs generate the actual content.

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