Efforts To Curb Spam Continue: TRAI Releases Second Amendment To The TCCCPR 2018

Introduction

On 12 February 2025, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (Amendment). The Amendment seeks to address persisting issues surrounding unsolicited commercial communications (UCC) by refining the existing framework under the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (Regulations). The Amendments are now in force, except for certain provisions (relating to complaint mechanism) that will come into effect from 13 April 2025.

Key changes and their implications:

1. Stronger curbs on promotional communication
   >In a bid to prevent a backdoor entry to promotional communication, the Amendment explicitly clarifies that if promotional content is mixed with any other type of communication (say, service or transactional) then such communication will be treated as promotional. Accordingly, the pre-checks for