Telecom Ministry Dials Social Media Platforms As Influencers Teach How To Tamper Caller Identity

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has urged the social media platforms including Meta, X and Instagram to remove content or applications that violate the provisions of the Telecommunication Act, 2023, by facilitating offenses, according to The Economic Times report.

The issued advisory came after the report of  social media influencers guiding users on altering their Calling Line Identification (CLI) to display a different number when making calls. 

The advisory said that technically, this constitutes tampering with telecommunication identification, known as CLI spoofing and as per the Section 42 (3) (c) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, explicitly prohibits tampering with telecommunication identification. 

Violations of these provisions can result in imprisonment for up to three years, a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh, or both. The advisory also highlighted that Section 42(6) of the Act imposes the same penalties on those who abet any offense under the law.

Altering Calling Line Identification (CLI) to display a different number  on the recipient's phone is known as ‘Call spoofing’. It is often used for fraudulent purposes, such as impersonation, phishing, or scam calls. 

Although the DoT usually does not engage with social media platforms—since they fall under the Ministry of Electronics and IT—it intervened in this case because the content on these platforms was enabling users to violate provisions of the Telecommunications Act.

Social media platforms have been directed to confirm compliance with the order by February 28.