Pirated Films, OTT Content Haunt Telegram As Centre Sends Takedown Notice

Telegram has been told to give a report on what it did to solve the issue within 15 days

04 Jul 2026, 07:43 · www.ndtv.com

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India has issued a notice to Telegram over widespread piracy of films and OTT content
Telegram must report actions taken to address piracy within 15 days to Indian authorities
The notice emphasizes platform accountability over reactive takedown of pirated content

What specific actions must Telegram take to stop piracy?
New Delhi:

India has issued notice to the messaging app company Telegram over widespread piracy of films and OTT content, sources said. The company has been told to give a report on what it did to solve the issue within 15 days.

The government action is aimed at protecting India's creator economy and the film industry, along with broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers and distributors, sources said.

The notice said it expects Telegram to crack down on the "widespread dissemination" of pirated films, OTT content and other audio-visual material through its platform. Officials pointed out the government's approach marks a shift from piecemeal takedowns of pirated content to "platform accountability".

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is learnt to have told Telegram, which was temporarily blocked in India in June as a precautionary measure to prevent any paper leak during the NEET re-examination, that copyright infringement is not merely a civil violation, but also a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

"The Ministry has made it clear that Telegram cannot merely wait for the government to identify each piracy channel one by one. A purely reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach may not be enough to demonstrate due diligence by the platform, as required under the IT Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021," officials said.

The notice to Telegram follows the Centre's recent regulatory action against Meta. On Wednesday, MeitY issued notice to Meta questioning the planned username feature on WhatsApp and, later in the week, decided to summon the company over Instagram ads allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material.

The ministry has also sought details of Telegram's grievance redressal mechanism for producers, OTT platforms and law enforcement agencies, sources said. Telegram has been reminded that, as an intermediary, it is required to observe due diligence under the IT Act and the IT Rules, they added.

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