MIB steps up pressure on Telegram; seeks proactive action against piracy

“The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) demanded on Saturday (July 4, 2026) that Telegram take proactive action in detecting and taking down pirated content on its platform,” a senior official said. The move represents a fresh escalation between the government and the Dubai-headquartered messaging app, following a week-long ban ahead of the redo of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). 

Telegram has been accused in multiple court cases of delayed or little action in response to reports of piracy. The app has emerged as a haven for pirates since it places few limits on file sizes that users can upload on channels for free, enraging entertainment industry executives who have seen it turn into a convenient hub for pirated books, newspapers, TV series and films.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the firm spends (without making back) tens of millions of dollars on its operations in India. A Telegram spokesperson did not have an immediate comment in response to The Hindu on the notice. 

Even as Telegram in recent years moved to comply with both court orders and private infringement complaints faster, the I&B Ministry sent the firm its own missives, such as by ordering a removal of more than 3,100 URLs in March this year. Telegram complied with that order.

This may not be enough, and the Ministry is now demanding that the firm do more to automatically detect piracy. A note shared by a senior official describing the notice said that it was aimed at creating a “clear shift from piecemeal takedown to platform accountability,” and that the firm “is required to observe due diligence under the IT Act and IT Rules.” 

Under Section 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules, 2021, intermediaries like Telegram are required to “make reasonable efforts by [themselves], and to cause the users of [their] computer resource to not [share] any information that … infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights.”

Telegram fought its week-long ban, justified by the National Testing Agency as a way of preventing misinformation about leaks made possible by a feature that the app has to backdate the timestamp on messages, in the Delhi High Court. Justice Tejas Karia ruled that the ban was proportionate and legal.

Shortly after this order, Telegram was also served a notice on its username feature by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which had asked WhatsApp to pause the rollout of a similar feature. The username feature has been scrutinised by the government because it allows users to hide their phone number when contacting a stranger. Telegram and Signal also have such a feature, and both those apps’ developers received a similar notice to WhatsApp. Telegram has been told to reply to the Ministry’s notice within fifteen days.

It is unclear if the IT Ministry has specifically directed Telegram to disable the feature. Arattai, a messaging app developed by Zoho Corporation, said it also received such a notice, and had turned off the feature. Telegram’s username feature remains available as of writing.