The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued a notice to Telegram on Saturday, asking the messaging platform to take stronger action against the spread of pirated movies, OTT content and other copyrighted audio-visual materials on its platform.
The Ministry requested a report on the measures taken within 15 days.
The move comes on the heels of the ministry’s March 11 directive, in which it asked Telegram to disable access to over 3,000 channels distributing pirated movies, web series and audiobooks within three hours. The 120-page long list included movies and web series on OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, SonyLiv, Jio Hotstar, ShemarooMe and others.
Saturday’s notice marks what the department described as a shift from “phasing out to holding the platform accountable.” She noted that although the government issued a notice to shut down 3,000 channels on Telegram, the platform “cannot wait for the government to identify each piracy channel one by one.”
To be sure, the ministry did not share the notice itself with the media, but rather a summary of what it included.
Using strong language, the brief said that a “purely reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach may not be sufficient to demonstrate due diligence” under the Information Technology Act 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. It reminded Telegram that, as an intermediary, it has to observe due diligence under the law.
“Telegram has been asked to strengthen its detection and reporting systems, disable access to and remove pirated movies and infringing audio and video content. It has been directed to act against repeat offenders, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators and associated entities,” the note said.
The government also sought details about Telegram’s grievance redressal mechanism for film producers, OTT platforms and law enforcement agencies.
The notice added that copyright infringement “is not just a civil infringement, but a criminal offense in India” under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Cinematography Act, 1952. It warned that continued availability of pirated content, evasive compliance or incomplete response could invite further examination and action.
According to the ministry, the move aims to protect India’s creative economy, including the film industry, broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers and distributors from online piracy.
This is the second regulatory action taken by the Center against Telegram this week.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sent notices to Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp regarding the ‘Username’ feature that allows users to call without revealing their phone numbers. MeitY believes this feature can increase the risks of impersonation, identity theft, phishing, and digital fraud.
Telegram has also come under scrutiny in India over its role in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy. Ahead of the re-examination, the Center had temporarily blocked access to the platform after the National Testing Agency (NTA) reported concerns about the circulation of question papers and answer keys via Telegram.
Telegram did not immediately respond to HT’s request for comment.
