The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) on Tuesday welcomed the government's move to remove the increasing threat of spam and scam calls coming from the over-the-top platform. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has decided to take initiative on the issue, as reported in the recent meeting of the Joint Committee of Regulators (JCOR).

Industry is looking at it as a very important step, especially when spam and scam activities are rapidly transferring OTT communication apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and others. While the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), telecommunications service providers (TSP) is tightening the rules around the unwanted commercial communication (UCC) on traditional telecommunications network, such control over the OTT platform is missing.

According to COAI, Meity's participation reflects changes in thinking, where the responsibility of regulating digital platforms will now be with the concerned ministries, not telecom operators improperly burden.

COAI said this is important because TSP has limited control over what happens on the OTT app, even if the user is the same. COAI Director General Lieutenant General S.K. P. Kochhar explained the challenge using a simple example: A telecom operator can track a phone number in a particular city and provide legal aid if needed. “But when an OTT app is used on another device, it becomes difficult to track, as the apps and SIM cards do not have after installation,” Kochhar said.

While the telecom number can only be tracked to the city where the mobile is located, there is no way to track the activities of the OTT communication app, which was initially released on the mobile number, but is now running from a separate handset, while the sim is on the second handset, he said. Kochhar said, “This happens because the app and SIM app do not remain firmly tied after installing the app.”

According to COAI, another increasing danger is stagnography, where harmful materials are hidden inside regular files such as images or documents. This makes it easier for cyber criminals to cheat and attack without caught.

COAI stressed that strong cyber security measures are needed on telecom and OTT platforms. The industry body believes that an integrated set of rules for all digital communication players is the only way to protect people from spam, fraud calls and messages. COAI said, “The objective must be clear – ensuring a safe digital environment for users and reducing the disturbance of spam and scam communication as much as possible.”