The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is actively engaging with Meta Platforms Inc. and Google Llc to integrate spam complaints from platforms such as WhatsApp and in-built phone diallers with telecom operators' complaint systems. According to people familiar with the discussions, Trai has held multiple meetings with the US tech giants to develop a mechanism that integrates user spam complaints with the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform and the regulator's do-not-disturb (DND) portal. The DLT platform is used by telecom operators to register telemarketers and monitor commercial communications, while the DND app allows consumers to report unwanted commercial messages and calls.
The scale of spam complaints has reached significant levels, with over 1.7 million spam complaints registered through the DND application in 2025, contributing directly to regulatory scrutiny and action against unregistered telemarketers and repeat offenders. A February survey by community platform LocalCircles revealed that 96% of WhatsApp users said they receive pesky or unsolicited commercial messages every day on the app. Currently, spam complaints reported on WhatsApp and in-built phone diallers remain within the platforms' own systems, allowing them to take action against spammers independently. Truecaller CEO Jhunjhunwala has reported that users actively block 4 lakh calls from the 140 series and 1.25 lakh calls from the 1600 series every day, highlighting the massive scale of spam calls despite regulatory measures.
While discussions are actively taking place with both Meta and Google regarding spam management, Meta seems hesitant to share WhatsApp spam data due to user privacy and technical issues. According to sources, some technical issues, such as how the integration will happen, will also need to be identified. Meta has expressed concerns about user privacy implications and technical feasibility of the data sharing mechanism. The regulator is also engaged in a dispute with caller ID platform Truecaller over rules preventing the app from labelling calls from the 140 and 1600 number series as spam. Truecaller has submitted that treating every user-generated tag as a reportable complaint compels call management apps to transfer commercially valuable user-side intelligence to the DND registry.
Trai has now sought authorisation from the IT ministry to act against call management apps like Truecaller, marking a significant escalation in regulatory enforcement. In the Draft Telecom Commercial Communication Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026, the regulator has included provisions for call management apps, proposing that no such app shall tag, block, filter or give any treatment to calls meant for genuine communication or restrict incoming calls from designated number series. The proposed regulation seeks to tag or block calls originating from number series starting from 140 (for telemarketing calls) or 1600 (for banking, financial services, and insurance companies) to make service- or transaction-related calls. Truecaller CEO Jhunjhunwala has criticized TRAI's request to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for seeking authorisation, stating it makes "absolutely no sense."
Former Trai principal advisor Satya N. Gupta stated that technically it is feasible to share spam data by OTT communication apps and phone dialer apps on telecom operators' DLT platforms. He noted that blockchain-based platforms like DLT offer advantages including data security and interoperability with different systems. However, a question may arise on how the cost of storing such additional spam data will be shared between telecom operators and other spam data providers. Mint's queries emailed to Trai, Google, and Meta on Friday remained unanswered.
