Centre Issues Telegram 15-Day Ultimatum Over Pirated Films and OTT Content

In a major development, the Centre on Saturday issued a notice to Telegram over the circulation of pirated films and OTT content on its platform, giving the messaging service 15 days to strengthen its safeguards and explain how it plans to curb copyright violations.

"Government issues notice to Telegram over widespread piracy. I&B Ministry directs Telegram to take immediate measures against pirated films & OTT content and submit Action Taken Report in 15 days. Govt action to protect India's creator economy, film industry, broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers, and distributors," ANI quoted sources in a tweet as saying.

The ministry has reportedly reminded Telegram that copyright infringement is not merely a civil dispute but a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952, Hindustan Times reported.

The government hopes that the platform will introduce stronger monitoring mechanisms to prevent the unauthorised distribution of protected content.

The notice comes shortly after the government temporarily banned the app after NEET-UG 2026 the papers of the exam were leaked online. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had ordered internet service providers to restrict access to the messaging app across India from June 16 to June 22 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

The decision was taken after authorities raised concerns that organised cheating networks were using Telegram to circulate examination-related material before the medical entrance test, which was held on June 21. The restrictions were intended to prevent any attempt to compromise the integrity of the examination.

In a separate directive, Telegram was also instructed to disable its message-editing feature in India until June 30. Investigators alleged that cheating syndicates had exploited the feature by inserting question papers into older posts and presenting them as evidence of prior leaks.

The government's action followed a major crackdown by Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime, which dismantled an inter-state racket allegedly operating eight Telegram channels. Investigators said the network had routed nearly ₹1.5 crore through fake bank accounts and contacted around 1,000 mobile numbers in just one month while offering access to leaked examination material.

The temporary ban on Telegram was challenged before the Delhi High Court. However, on June 19, the court upheld the Centre's decision, allowing the six-day restriction to remain in force in the interest of ensuring a fair and secure re-examination process.