- By Shubham Bajpai
- Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:51 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has directed Telegram, the messaging platform, to remove pirated content being shared on its channels.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, citing sources, a notice under the Information Technology Act, 2000 has been issued to the platform following complaints from several OTR platforms, including Amazon Prime Video and JioCinema among others.
In their complaints, the OTT platforms alleged widespread unauthorised distribution of copyrighted films and web series through the channels on the messaging application.
The platforms flagged that the content was being illegally shared on a large scale. Based on the complains, the authorities examined the matter and identified 3,142 channels that were involved in sharing pirated material.
"This is a complaint-based mechanism. We received complaints from multiple sources like content owners, OTT platforms and civil society on the pirated content, hence we took the action," a senior MIB official was quoted by HT as saying.
A notification, reportedly, dated March 11 from the MIB stated that certain channels on Telegram had made available the content, which is owned or licensed to producers and OTT platforms without authorisation, adding that such an activity violated the Copyright Act, 1957.
The government invoked Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act along with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These provisions require online intermediaries to remove unlawful content once notified by authorities.
In a two-page notification, MIB Joint Secretary C Senthil Rajan, ordered Telegram to remove and disable access to the identified channels within three hours of receiving the communication.
As per the order, the government has invoked Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act along with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
According to the annexure, pirated links included films such as, KGF Chapter 2, Two Much, 120 Bahadur, Param Sundari, Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1 and Bhool Chuk Maaf.