A2P Firewall to Shield Citizens from SMS Scams, says State Minister

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka's Cabinet has proposed the implementation of a centralized SMS firewall. 

The initiative seeks to address concerns over the "excessive use of short message systems (SMS)" and its potential for abuse.

The proposed system, to be implemented by UK-based private company Infobip, would function as an international A2P (Application-to-Person) short message services center. This centralized gateway would allow authorities to monitor and regulate SMS traffic, potentially filtering out fraudulent messages and spam.

However, concerns have been raised about the potential impact on individual privacy and data protection. 

State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath, addressing these concerns, clarified that the system would not involve the collection or storage of personal data. Instead, it would focus on identifying and blocking malicious content.

"Personal data is already being used by these private firms," Herath explained. "What we hope to achieve is, if a person does not wish to receive mobile marketing messages, or advertisements, that person will be able to stop receiving them. We are carrying out a program to protect the people through this. There are many scams taking place online and via SMS. We hope to regulate that."