India orders Telegram to strengthen anti-piracy measures

India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an official notice to Telegram, demanding that the platform strengthen its efforts to combat the distribution of pirated content.

According to Hindustan Times, Telegram has been given 15 days to submit a report detailing the measures it has taken in response to the government’s concerns.

The ministry said it intends to move beyond the practice of blocking individual channels and instead place greater responsibility on the platform itself for preventing copyright violations. In the spring of 2026, Telegram was ordered to block around 3,000 channels, but authorities now argue that the service should proactively identify and curb the spread of pirated content without waiting for regulatory directives.

Under the notice, Telegram is required to enhance its mechanisms for detecting and blocking illegal content, impose stricter measures against users who repeatedly violate platform rules, and disclose details of its procedures for handling complaints from copyright holders.

The demands come just weeks after Telegram was temporarily blocked in India.

In June 2026, access to the messaging platform was restricted for seven days in an effort to prevent the distribution of materials related to the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for medical colleges and associated fraud schemes. Authorities also ordered the temporary suspension of the message-editing feature within the country.

Telegram challenged the restrictions in court, but the Delhi High Court upheld the decision to maintain the temporary block.

Meanwhile, Telegram founder Pavel Durov publicly criticized the Indian authorities’ actions, arguing that the measures primarily affected law-abiding users rather than those responsible for distributing examination materials.

By Jeyhun Aghazada