The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation is currently working on a bill aimed at addressing the issue of persistent advertising calls, as announced by the department’s head, Maksut Shadaev, at the “Telecom of the Future” conference.
The proposed bill seeks to prohibit advertising calls, particularly those generated by automated systems. Shadaev highlighted the widespread negative sentiment among subscribers towards unwanted voice calls, and stressed the need to combat spam and fraudulent activities in messaging platforms in the future.
The Ministry of Construction is currently deliberating on the specifics of the bill, including whether it will cover all advertising calls or solely those initiated by automated mechanisms. The bill is expected to be presented to the State Duma during the upcoming autumn session.
Regarding the consequences for flouting the ban, Shadaev mentioned that discussions are ongoing. He suggested that telecom operators may opt to block such calls altogether. While emphasizing the urgent need for the ban, Shadaev noted that the issue of accountability will be addressed at a later stage.
Efforts to combat fraudulent and spam calls have been ongoing in Russia for several years. In late 2022, the Antifrod system was launched to identify calls from suspicious numbers linked to scammers. Furthermore, in April of this year, a law was passed imposing fines on microfinance institutions for promoting loans without providing full details, along with penalties for spam calls made without subscriber consent.