India's regulators have introduced changes aimed at curbing online spam calls, and they're set to cause tension among telcos. The one-way sharing of caller information between telecom operators and the public is being rolled out as part of a new regulation. In this system, known as "caller-ID", every call will be shared with an IP address in exchange for access to that information.
The move has been met with controversy from online spammers who rely on callerID to identify and block calls. They argue that the one-way sharing requirement would hand a commercially valuable proprietary asset to telecom operators. The spammers see this as a way to outsmart law enforcement agencies, which are working to crack down on spam calls.
Truecaller, a leading service provider of blocked numbers and call monitoring tools, has voiced concerns about the changes. "This is a major issue for us," said an official at Truecaller. "We need access to caller information to help our users block unwanted calls effectively." The telcos have maintained that they will comply with the new regulations but express disappointment at the potential impact on their business interests.