Telegram

: The Centre has served a notice to popular messaging app Telegram, directing it to crack down on the "widespread dissemination" of pirated films, OTT content and other audio-visual material through its platform, government officials said on Saturday. In its notice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sought an Action Taken Report from Telegram within 15 days, with officials underlining that the government's approach marks a shift from piecemeal takedowns of pirated content to "platform accountability". The ministry is learnt to have told Telegram, which was temporarily blocked in India in June as a precautionary measure to prevent any paper leak during the NEET re-examination, that copyright infringement is not merely a civil violation, but also a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952. "The Ministry has made it clear that Telegram cannot merely wait for the government to identify each piracy channel one by one. A purely reactive, .

After sending a notice to WhatsApp, the IT Ministry has now sent a notice to Telegram and Signal, raising questions on their existing username feature and asking how the platforms are addressing concerns related to fraud and impersonation, according to a source. Sources said that in the notice to Telegram, the government has asked the platform why it should be allowed to retain the username feature. On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to Meta over the username feature on WhatsApp, citing concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. It had also directed WhatsApp to pause the feature until consultations on the issue are completed "to the satisfaction of the Government". The government has now widened its scrutiny to other messaging platforms as well, sources said. Sources told PTI that the IT ministry has also written to Telegram and Signal - which already have the username feature - and asked how concerns .

The Indian government said in the report it is concerned about Telegram's privacy features, which allow users to interact without needing to reveal a phone number, making identity detection difficult

Most services of the instant messaging app have been restored nationwide, but the editing feature remains unavailable until June 30 under government orders

The temporary Telegram restriction triggered a surge in VPN downloads, highlighting how users respond when access to digital platforms is suddenly disrupted

The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the Centre's move to temporarily restrict access to the Telegram messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG re-exam, holding the order was "not disproportionate". While pronouncing the judgement, a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia said the Centre's order was "least restrictive" and the government was empowered to direct blocking of access to Telegram. A detailed order is awaited. Telegram's counsel had questioned the legality of the government order blocking the platform. He had said that over 150 million users had been affected by the Centre's action. The National Testing Agency (NTA) had on May 12 cancelled the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak. The CBI is investigating the matter and a re-test is scheduled on June 21. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), acting on recommendations of the NTA, had issued a ...

The Delhi High Court on Thursday questioned the Centre's decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, saying how the rights of 150 million users of the messaging app can be curtailed just because a few of them are taking up the test. The observations were made by a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia before reserving the verdict on the plea of Telegram against the temporary ban on the ground that the app may be misused ahead of the NEET-UG retest. On May 12, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had cancelled the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak. The matter is currently under investigation by the CBI. In a bid to ensure smooth conduct of the controversy-ridden exam, the government imposed the temporary ban on the messaging app till June 22. On Thursday, the Centre vehemently argued before the high court that Telegram has all t

India issued over 54,000 digital block orders between 2014 and 2025, with MeitY emerging as the leading authority behind online content restrictions

As Telegram battles India's temporary restriction, a dispute over alleged BGP hijacking has brought attention to how internet traffic is routed globally

Today's BS Opinion examines the NEET-UG paper leak, the delayed AI171 crash report, creditor rights under the IBC, urban safety failures and a global history of caste

Jio said it was operating its network in line with global routing standards after Telegram founder Pavel Durov alleged sabotage of access to the messaging platform

By invoking Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, now to block Telegram, the government has marshalled heavy legal machinery

A temporary restriction by Indian government, linked to NEET-UG, has renewed scrutiny of Telegram and its unusual evolution from a messaging app into a broadcasting and content-sharing platform

India's temporary restriction on Telegram ahead of the Neet-UG re-examination puts the spotlight on a platform that has repeatedly faced government action across the world

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a swipe at the government after it temporarily restricted access to Telegram, saying the "new trick" was akin to putting a lock on the victim's house instead of catching the thief. Instant messaging app Telegram has stopped working for existing users in India after the government temporarily restricted access to the app, but it continues to remain operational through the Virtual Protocol Network (VPN). Google delisted the app on Tuesday, and Apple's Appstore has also removed it now in compliance with the government order to block access to the app, ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandh said, "'Telegram Ban' -- Modi government's new trick to stop paper leaks. Meaning, instead of catching the thief, just put a lock on the victim's door." "Lakhs of students have been studying on Telegram for years -- notes, test series, discussions, preparation. How does snatching that facility become the solution to pap

On Tuesday, the government ordered the temporary suspension of Telegram's services across India until June 22, ahead of the Neet UG 2026 re-examination scheduled for June 21

Pavel Durov said banning Telegram would do little to curb the circulation of leaked content and would push such activity to other platforms

Centre has restricted Telegram access till June 22 and disabled message editing till June 30 after NTA flagged concerns over examination-related fraud ahead of the Neet-UG re-examination

Google delists Telegram in India following a government order aimed at preventing NEET paper leaks; Apple is expected to follow suit

Measures were taken in the interest of public order in response to the organised use of Telegram by cheating rackets to target candidates appearing for the Neet (UG) 2026 re-examination