Pirated movies, OTT content: Government notice to Telegram, seeks report in 15 days

The Ministry has directed Telegram to act against repeat infringers, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators, and associated entities.

2 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 5, 2026 04:03 AM IST

MeitY, Telegram ban, NEET 2026, NTA, paper leak, message editing, information technology act, exam integrity, cheating racket, public order

The government had earlier acted against more than 3,000 Telegram channels carrying pirated content. (Representative Image)

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Saturday issued a notice to Telegram over the alleged widespread dissemination of pirated films, OTT content, and other audio-visual material through its platform, while directing the messaging app to take corrective action and submit an action-taken report within 15 days.

It is learnt that the I&B ministry has also asked Telegram to strengthen its systems for the detection, reporting, disabling of access to and removal of pirated films and infringing audio-visual content.

The Ministry has directed Telegram to act against repeat infringers, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators, and associated entities, while seeking details of its grievance redressal mechanism for producers, OTT platforms, and law-enforcement agencies.

Telegram has been asked to detail measures adopted to prevent, detect, and remove pirated content from the platform in its report.

According to officials, the communication signals a shift from previous piecemeal takedown to platform accountability. The government had earlier acted against over 3,000 Telegram channels for pirated content.

Reminding Telegram that, as an intermediary, it is required to observe due diligence under the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology Rules, the I&B Ministry has stated that Telegram should not be waiting for the government to identify each piracy channel and also emphasised that a purely reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach may not be sufficient to demonstrate due diligence as required under the IT Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021.

The I&B Ministry had underlined that copyright infringement is not just a civil violation but a criminal offence in India under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the continued availability of pirated content, evasive compliance, or an incomplete response may invite further examination and action under the legal framework.

Story continues below this ad

Officials said the action has been taken to protect India’s creator economy, film industry, broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers and distributors.

Amrita Nayak Dutta

Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express. In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms. Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence. She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More

Loading Recommendations...

Jul 12: Latest News

Live Blog