MUMBAI: Spam callers may soon find there’s nowhere left to hide. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is exploring ways to bring together spam complaints reported on WhatsApp and Google’s native phone dialler with telecom operators’ complaint systems, in a move aimed at tightening the country’s fight against unsolicited calls and messages.

According to a Mint report citing people familiar with the matter, the regulator has held multiple rounds of discussions with Meta Platforms and Google to develop a framework that links user-reported spam complaints with the telecom industry’s Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform and TRAI’s Do Not Disturb (DND) portal.

The proposed integration is intended to give telecom operators and regulators a more comprehensive view of repeat offenders, enabling faster identification of entities responsible for spam calls and messages and swifter enforcement action.

At present, the DLT platform is used by telecom operators to register telemarketers and monitor commercial communications, while the DND portal allows consumers to report unsolicited promotional calls and text messages.

According to the report, TRAI believes integrating complaint data from widely used digital platforms could significantly strengthen the existing anti-spam ecosystem by expanding the pool of actionable information available to telecom service providers.

“Discussions are actively taking place with both Meta and Google regarding spam management. TRAI wants WhatsApp to share its spam data with telecom operators for better action,” Mint quoted a person familiar with the discussions as saying.

The report added that the proposal remains under consultation, with the regulator continuing discussions with both technology companies before any formal framework is finalised.

The initiative reflects TRAI’s broader efforts to tackle India’s persistent spam problem by bridging the gap between internet-based communication platforms and traditional telecom networks, creating a more unified approach to identifying and acting against repeat offenders.