“The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has demanded that Telegram take proactive action in detecting and taking down pirated content on its platform,” a senior official said on Saturday (July 4, 2026).
Telegram has been asked to reply to the Ministry’s notice within 15 days.
The move is a fresh escalation of issues between the Indian government and the Dubai-headquartered messaging app, following a week-long ban ahead of the re-scheduled National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
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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 challenge puts spotlight on Section 69A of the IT Act The firm spends, without earning back, tens of millions of dollars on its operations in India, Telegram founder Pavel Durov has said.
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 has sent the firm its own orders, including the removal of more than 3,100 URLs in March this year.
Telegram complied with that order.
Telegram | Mass messaging and more 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”.
Telegram access restored after High Court declines to stay blocking order Telegram fought its week-long ban, which has been justified by the National Testing Agency in the Delhi High Court as a way to prevent misinformation on leaks made possible by an app feature on backdating the timestamp on messages sent on the platform.
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 notice similar to WhatsApp.
IT Ministry to summon Meta officials over report on child sexual abuse advertisements on Instagram 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.
