TRAI Taking Measures to Curb Misuse of Messaging Services

In order to prevent the misuse of messaging services and safeguard consumers from fraudulent practices, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued guidelines for the implementation of certain measures. A recent Direction from TRAI requires all Access Service Providers to adhere to the established protocol. 

In its ongoing campaign against unwanted spam, TRAI has made it obvious that as of September 1, 2024, no access service provider will be able to send messages with the URL "url('')" attached.

To improve message traceability, TRAI has ordered that beginning November 1, 2024, all messages shall include a traceable trail from their senders to their recipients. If the telemarketer chain is not specified or does not match, the message will be denied.

Tightening the Security

Given that TRAI has already cracked down on unlicensed telemarketers who send promotional messages and calls to telecom users, this latest development takes on more importance. For up to two years, TRAI has ordered telecom companies to deactivate the accounts of unregistered telemarketers who have been detected to make spam calls. This directive was issued last week.

The regulatory body for telecom has "issued directions for enforcement of measures to curb the misuse of messaging services and protect consumers from fraudulent practices."

By September 30, 2024, at the latest, TRAI has ordered all access providers to transfer all telemarketing calls, beginning with the 140 series, to an online DLT platform. This will allow for improved control and monitoring.

Further Measures Taken by TRAI

• Starting from November 1, 2024, all messages must include a traceable trail from senders to recipients, according to TRAI's mandate, in order to improve message traceability. Undefined or mismatched telemarketer chains will result in message rejection.
• The TRAI has instituted strict penalties for infractions in an effort to discourage the exploitation of promotional content templates. Registration of Content Templates in the incorrect category will result in blacklisting; subsequent infractions will cause the Sender's services to be suspended for one month.
• All Headers and Content Templates that are registered on DLT must follow the rules that have been set out to ensure compliance with regulations. Furthermore, you can only link one Content Template to one Header.
• The TRAI has ordered the immediate suspension of traffic from all of a sender's headers and content templates until they can be verified in the event that misuse of these elements is discovered. Sender traffic will not be revoked unless Sender takes legal action against such usage. Delivery-Telemarketers are also subject to the same penalties if they do not disclose the companies responsible for such abuse within two business days.

For the exact text of the Direction, stakeholders are urged to go to the TRAI website at www.trai.gov.in.

In order to protect consumer interests and forestall fraudulent acts, these steps advance TRAI's efforts to establish a secure messaging ecosystem.

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