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Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
issued a notice to Telegram regarding the circulation of pirated films and
Over-The-Top (OTT) content on the messaging platform
¨
Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting issued a notice to Telegram on 4 July 2026 regarding the
circulation of pirated films and Over-The-Top (OTT) content on the messaging
platform.
¨
Telegram was asked to
submit an Action Taken Report within 15 days.
¨
The notice directed
Telegram to strengthen systems for detecting, reporting, disabling access to,
and removing infringing audio-visual content.
¨
Copyright infringement is
a criminal offence under Indian law.
¨
It is covered under the
Copyright Act, 1957 and the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
¨
Pirated films, web series,
and other audio-visual content are commonly shared through channels, groups,
bots, and accounts on digital platforms.
¨
The Ministry referred to
the due diligence obligations of platforms under the Information Technology
Act, 2000 and the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
¨
Platform-level compliance
includes content detection, reporting mechanisms, disabling access to illegal
content, and action against repeat offenders.
¨
The notice covered repeat
infringers, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators, and
associated entities involved in illegal distribution.
¨ The Ministry stated that
a reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach is not sufficient.
¨ Digital platforms are expected to adopt proactive compliance measures to prevent copyright violations.
¨ The initiative aims to curb online piracy and strengthen copyright protection in the digital ecosystem.
