Battling the spam goliath: Inside Trai's plan to clamp down on unwanted calls, spammers

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

spam. Again. Last month, it recommended that all network operators should implement caller name display service on mobile phones and that all smartphone makers should enable this feature within a stipulated period. Battling unwanted calls and messages is nothing new to Trai, which has deployed every advanced weapon, from blockchain to artificial intelligence.
But nimble-footed spammers have always been a step or two ahead of it, and unwanted messages and calls continue to flood the phones. In 2018, Trai introduced a novel blockchain-based architecture called distributed ledger technology (DLT), to ensure consent-based calling and messaging as well as to create business opportunities for enterprises and telcos.

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It took three years for DLT to be fully implemented. Three years later, in 2024, it is still facing criticism for being ineffective not only due to the evolving tactics of senders but also due to the fundamental problems that were not addressed while building the technology.

Why did this massive technology solution fail? How does Trai plan to control damage? At the heart of the spam is the primal need of businesses to tap every consumer touch point to market themselves—from text messages and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram