The Ministry of Digital Development, Telecommunications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft Government Decree “On Approval of the Rules for the Provision of Telephone Services”, according to which cellular operators must stop calling subscribers for advertising purposes. The operators supported the department’s initiative and believe that this will help protect users from telephone scammers.
“Such measures should reduce the amount of intrusive telephone advertising. Auto-dialing has become a common tool for promoting services. It does not find a response from subscribers, therefore it is prohibited by Article 18 of the Law “On Advertising”. The blocking will affect exactly the auto-dialing – its telecom operator can determine it using special software. The Ministry of Digital Transformation has already discussed the initiative with market representatives. According to companies, the innovation can become not only an obstacle to spam, but also a hindrance to scammers,” representatives of the Ministry of Digital Development told reporters.
By auto-dialing in the ministry, they mean dialing random numbers using special software that allows you to automatically make calls to hundreds of numbers at the same time. When the subscriber answers such a call, he will either hear a pre-recorded voice message in the handset, or he will be switched to the operator.
In addition, Mitsifry proposes that operators tell their subscribers which companies are calling them. That is, on the smartphone screen, in addition to the caller’s number, a signature will also be displayed, for example, it can be a bank, a medical center and any other institution and its name.
If the draft resolution of the Ministry of Digital Development is approved, then the new rules for domestic mobile operators will come into force as early as March 1, 2023.
MegaFon, one of the largest mobile operators in Russia, said that they already have a system for detecting and blocking auto calls, and the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Development will allow the company to deal with such calls even more effectively.
Source: Trash Box
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