Trai’s ‘bad news’ for Truecaller is good news for mobile users – Times of India

Telecom regulator Trai will soon start consultation on framing a mechanism for caller’s KYC-based name to flash on phone screens when someone calls, according to a top official. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has received a reference to begin consultation on the same from the Department of Telecom (DoT).
The consultation on this is expected to begin in a couple of months, Trai Chairman PD Vaghela said. “We have just received a reference, and we will start work on this soon. Name as per KYC will appear when someone calls,” Vaghela said.
Trai had already been thinking on similar lines, but now with the specific reference from the telecom department, work on this will start soon.
How will this help mobile users
Flashing of KYC-based name of the caller may help protect smartphone users from not only spam calls but also phising calls. There have been number of cases where callers claiming to be from bank, insurance companies or other businesses make mobile users share their sensitive banking or other information for financial frauds or identity thefts.
“The mechanism will enable name-appearing on a phone screen, in accordance with KYC done by telecom companies, as per DoT norms,” Vaghela added.
Why this may be bad news for apps like Truecaller
The move assumes significance as the mechanism will help identify callers as per their KYC (Know Your Customer) and bring greater accuracy and transparency than some apps like TrueCaller that identify callers based on crowdsourcing data.
Sources said that once the framework for KYC based-new mechanism is worked out, the identity establishment will become more clear and legally tenable. It will also have a ripple effect, leading to a clean up of data on crowdsourcing apps as there will be KYC linkages.
Asked whether the process will be kept voluntary, sources said it is too early to discuss the modalities since many aspects will come up for discussion at the consultation stage.
(With PTI inputs)