Technology can, at times, resemble Pandora’s box. Consider the case of cellular technology; it has revolutionised human communication but it has attendant complications. The recommendation made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for all mobile network operators to introduce mandatory calling name presentation services — a welcome step — needs to be seen in this light. India’s telecom regulator has stipulated that all mobile network operators should display the caller’s name to every user and that all smartphones should enable this feature on their products within a specific period, preferably six months from the notification of the circular. In a nation where privacy — a fundamental right — is yet to be accorded the primacy it deserves, the TRAI circular, if it is implemented properly, could go a long way in tackling the menace of spam calls. Moreover, citizens would not need to depend on private enterprises like Truecaller, an application whose premium version is out of reach of numerous Indians. Spam calls are no longer benign: they have been weaponised in the age of cyber fraud that has emerged as a flourishing, shadowy industry. In 2022, 65,893 new cases of cyber fraud were registered in India — a 24.4% jump from the previous year’s figure. Incidentally, Artificial Intelligence is becoming the new weapon in the fraudsters’ arsenal. According to a survey by McAfee, a computer security software company, around 47% of Indian respondents stated that they had received or knew someone who was the recipient of a voice call scam using AI-generated audio — this figure is double the global average of 25%. Financial loss to scam calls is not the only danger: the latter also facilitate personal data theft, with Aadhar card or PAN card details particularly at risk.
The TRAI recommendation should thus be an occasion for policy to reassess the multiple dimensions associated with the poaching of data — in essence, privacy. There is concern that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which was passed after years of deliberation, fails to protect data that is shared in the public domain. Is there then a case for Indian regulators to examine templates such as the General Data Protection Regulation that is now in place in the European Union? Privacy should be the cornerstone of consumer rights. Unless India develops a comprehensive edifice of consumer protection, it will not be able to honour one of the foundational aspects of modern consumerism.
