Last updated: February 09, 2023, 6:40 PM IST
India’s plans to display the caller’s name have raised concerns
Caller ID will probably help people identify the person based on a centralized database, but the privacy concerns are legitimate.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Thursday raised concerns about privacy and implementation in response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s proposal to require telecom service providers to display caller names.
The IAMAI argued that the TRAI’s proposal to require telcos to enable Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) poses a material risk to the privacy of Indian citizens.
It could also endanger individuals who prefer not to be identified by the caller and expose individuals from vulnerable populations to targeted harassment, the trade association argued.
According to TRAI data, there are about 1145.5 million wireless subscribers and 26.5 million fixed subscribers in India (as of September 2022).
“Deploying CNAP to such a large number of users requires telecom providers to build a secure, synchronized and robust system that can support billions of calls every day. This requires a major overhaul of the current telecom infrastructure, forcing carriers to incur huge costs,” the IAMAI said.
In addition, it poses a major privacy risk to users.
In light of these issues, the IAMAI has recommended that TRAI consider offering citizens an ‘opt-in’ approach as an alternative.
“Giving citizens the choice to voluntarily opt-in or opt-out of CNAP services will bring citizens’ choices and preferences to the forefront while protecting their right to privacy,” the industry association said.
The TRAI convened a meeting with mobile phone operators on February 17 to discuss the quality of fixed and wireless services, especially around the rollout of 5G.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed)
