Airtel’s Gopal Vittal Urges TRAI to Regulate WhatsApp, Telegram

Bharti Airtel has urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to bring over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram under regulatory oversight to curb increasing spam and fraud.

In a letter to TRAI Secretary Atul Kumar Chaudhary, Airtel’s Vice Chairman and MD, Gopal Vittal, proposed extending the Digital Consent Acquisition (DCA) framework to OTT platforms, enforcing Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, and integrating these platforms into the central spam blacklist system. Vittal noted that while regulatory measures have reduced spam in SMS and voice calls, fraudsters are now exploiting OTT messaging apps due to a lack of oversight.

Telecom operators, including Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea, have opposed TRAI’s latest anti-spam measures, arguing they fail to address the rising misuse of OTT services. Telcos claim that unregulated spam on these platforms has fueled financial fraud and security breaches.

While TRAI officials clarified that OTT regulation falls under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), Airtel continues to advocate for stricter policies, global standards to prevent call spoofing, and penalties for violators. Vittal emphasized that telecom operators are intermediaries and that telemarketers should be held accountable for spam messages.

Source: Moneycontrol