Centre issues notice to Telegram over pirated films, seeks action report in 15 days

The Central government has issued a notice to Telegram, directing the messaging platform to step up its efforts against the circulation of pirated films, OTT content and other audio visual material on its platform. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has asked the company to submit an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days outlining the measures taken to curb online piracy.In the notice, the ministry said it had found that pirated films, including new releases, were being shared through Telegram's public channels and groups. It said the unauthorised copying, hosting, streaming, distribution and sharing of such content was harming creators, copyright owners, producers, distributors, broadcasters, OTT platforms and India's creative economy.The government said Telegram had been notified on multiple occasions about infringing copies of films and other audio visual content available on the platform. Although specific URLs and channels had been disabled, the ministry said the same content continued to surface through "substantially identical channels, mirror channels, successor channels, bots" and other methods. It added that "no effective, systemic, or platform wide action" had been taken and warned that a "purely reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach" may not be enough to meet the platform's due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.The notice directs Telegram to strengthen its systems for detecting, reporting, disabling access to and removing infringing content. It has also been asked to establish an effective grievance redressal mechanism, prevent the "re-uploading, re-sharing, re-transmission, re-indexing or re-appearance" of content already identified as infringing, preserve records related to copyright violations and take action against repeat offenders, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators and associated entities involved in the dissemination or monetisation of pirated content.The ministry reminded Telegram that, as an intermediary, it is required to observe due diligence under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It also said copyright infringement is an offence under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Cinematograph Act, 1952.Telegram has been asked to submit an ATR detailing its anti-piracy measures, grievance redressal mechanism, action taken against repeat infringements and mirror channels, compliance protocols for infringement complaints and court orders, evidence preservation practices, and additional safeguards introduced to prevent piracy on the platform.The notice warns that "continued availability of infringing content", failure to take timely action or submission of an incomplete or evasive response could result in further action under the applicable legal framework. This could include examination of Telegram's compliance with due diligence requirements, proceedings before competent authorities and action under the Copyright Act, the Cinematograph Act and other applicable laws.Earlier in June, Telegram also came under government scrutiny after the National Testing Agency (NTA) flagged the circulation of leaked examination papers on the platform. The government temporarily blocked Telegram from June 16 to June 22 and directed it to disable its message-editing feature until June 30 ahead of the NEET (UG) 2026 re-examination held on June 21.The latest notice comes days after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a notice to Meta over WhatsApp's proposed username feature. The ministry later also decided to summon the company over Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material.Also Read: India scrutinizes Telegram, Signal over fraud risks