India's TRAI suggests AI spam crackdown, banks fear OTP blocking
India is looking to bring in AI to crack down on spam messages after complaints hit 2.5 million last year.
The telecom regulator, TRAI, suggests fining telecom operators to take action against senders that send spam after AI flags a number as suspicious and it receives three unique customer complaints in 10 days.
But banks and fintech firms are concerned: if AI gets it wrong, important messages like OTPs or fraud alerts might get blocked.
HDFC Bank, PhonePe seek 6-month pilot
Big names like HDFC Bank and PhonePe want a six-month pilot before any full rollout, hoping to avoid accidental message blocks.
Telecom companies support stricter penalties for telemarketers, even suggesting up to 50-paise-per-minute charges for voice calls.
Still, some worry these costs could hit businesses hard and slow down the digital economy.