Truecaller's TRAI Dispute Is the Latest Move in a Multiyear Regulatory Campaign

TRAI's July 2026 request to be designated an "authorised agency" under India's IT Act, so it can act directly against Truecaller, Hiya, and Whoscall, is the latest move in a campaign that began with TRAI's 2022 proposal for network-verified caller ID.

TRAI already published a draft Third Amendment to its telecom customer-preference regulations on March 13, 2026, proposing to ban apps from tagging calls on the 1400 and 1600 series and threatening loss of IT Act safe-harbour protection for non-compliance; July's move is TRAI seeking enforcement power for that draft.

TRAI mandated telco rollout of CNAP, its network-verified caller ID system, by March 2026, but coverage remains partial months after that deadline passed: Jio covers twelve telecom circles, Vodafone Idea two, and BSNL is still trial-only in one.

CNAP's real target is the free consumer product, not Truecaller for Business specifically: the crowdsourced caller-ID and spam-flagging feature that drives Truecaller's user base is what CNAP substitutes for, which exposes engagement across ad revenue (65-70% of total) and subscription, not just the SEK 386m Truecaller for Business line (~24% of group revenue).

TRAI's authority here is contested, not settled: the telecom appellate tribunal has previously ruled OTT platforms sit outside TRAI's jurisdiction, and India's internet industry body has publicly called the March draft "regulatory overreach."

The next concrete tell is whether MeitY grants TRAI's authorised-agency request and whether the safe-harbour clause survives into the amendment's final text; the comment period closed April 27.