The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued a formal notice to messaging platform Telegram, directing it to take immediate action against the widespread circulation of pirated films, OTT content and other copyrighted audio-visual material on its platform, and to submit an Action Taken Report within 15 days.
The directive follows an examination of complaints from OTT platforms and content owners, during which the ministry identified 3,142 Telegram channels allegedly distributing pirated movies, web series and other copyrighted content. The notice was issued under the Information Technology Act, 2000, directing Telegram to remove the infringing content and strengthen compliance with its obligations as an intermediary under the IT Rules, 2021.
The Centre also directed Telegram to act against what the ministry described as repeat infringers, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators and associated entities.
Officials stated that the government is moving away from targeting individual channels and will instead hold platforms themselves directly responsible. The ministry reiterated to Telegram that copyright infringement is a criminal offense and requested information about its grievance redressal system. It further cautioned that the ongoing presence of pirated material or insufficient compliance could lead to additional legal measures.
This is not the first time Telegram has come under the government's scanner in recent months. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had temporarily blocked the platform in India until June 22 as a precautionary measure ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, citing concerns over its alleged use by organised cheating rackets. The Delhi High Court upheld that decision, ruling the government had followed the prescribed legal procedure and that the restrictions satisfied the test of proportionality.
Wider Regulatory Scrutiny of Messaging Platforms
The Telegram notice is one element of a wider series of government measures directed at messaging platforms this week. Earlier, the Centre sent a notice to Meta regarding WhatsApp’s planned username feature, instructing the company not to introduce it in India until consultations were concluded. In reply, WhatsApp stated that the feature would be optional and emphasized that protections had been incorporated to guard against impersonation and fraud.
Together, the actions point to a government that is increasingly unwilling to treat large messaging platforms as passive infrastructure, and is moving toward a framework where platforms bear direct responsibility for the content flowing through them, not just when individually notified, but proactively.