In a recent announcement, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communication, disclosed that the Government’s advanced facial recognition tool, the Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification (ASTR), has joined forces with the popular messaging platform WhatsApp. Their collaboration aims to tackle the issue of potentially fraudulent mobile connections by identifying and blocking multiple user accounts.
ASTR, which employs facial recognition technology to authenticate the identities of individuals purchasing SIM cards, has been instrumental in enhancing security measures. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) developed ASTR to identify individuals who have registered more than the maximum allowed a number of mobile connections (currently nine) and determine if they were acquired using legitimate methods.
In one instance, Vaishnaw emphasised that 6,800 connections, albeit with various names, were connected to the same subscriber image. In another instance, there were 5,300 connections related to the same image. During the initial phase, ASTR was utilised to perform a thorough study of over 870 million mobile connections, which led to the discovery of more than four million instances where people had used a single photograph to obtain several mobile connections. Telecom companies terminated over 3.6 million connections after comprehensive verification procedures.
The Ministry of Communication ensured the sharing of details regarding the disconnected numbers with banks, payment wallets, and social media platforms, enabling the disengagement of these numbers from their respective platforms.
Expressing gratitude for WhatsApp’s commitment to user safety, a spokesperson for the messaging platform stated that they have been actively collaborating with the government to ensure a secure user experience and to eliminate bad actors from the platform.
Additionally, the IT Minister announced the launch of the Sanchar Saathi portal, a unified website consolidating various government initiatives such as TAFCOP, which allows users to check the number of SIM cards registered in their name, and the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR), which enables individuals to remotely block lost or stolen mobile devices for use on Indian telecom networks.