Mobile spam menace: Centre extends feedback submission deadline to August 5

NEW DELHI: To curb the spread of spam calls and unsolicited business messages, the Centre on Thursday extended the timeline for feedback submission for draft guidelines by 15 days to August 5.

The Department of Consumer Affairs said that in view of requests received from various federations, associations and other stakeholders to extend the timeline for submission of comments/feedback on draft guidelines for the 'Prevention and Regulation of Unsolicited and Unwarranted Business Communication, 2024', it has decided to extend the timeline by 15 days from the last date of submission, which was July 21.

The comments may now be submitted by August 5. The Department has received various suggestions which are presently under examination.

As unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) or spam voice calls on mobile phones surge, the stakeholders had urged the government to ensure a level playing field in regulatory compliance requirements between telecom service providers (TSPs) and other messaging platforms providing similar communication services.

The industry said it continues to assist the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Consumer Affairs in addressing the spam calls and SMS menace.

The issue involves multiple stakeholders -- TSPs, telemarketers, aggregators, principal entities (PEs) like banks, financial institutions and real estate agencies, according to the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI).

The committee formed by the Department of Consumer Affairs is working to prepare draft guidelines under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to safeguard consumers from unwarranted commercial communications.