Telegram told to act against OTT, movie piracy within 15 days

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has directed messaging platform Telegram to take immediate action against the circulation of pirated films and OTT content and submit an action-taken report within 15 days, sources said on Saturday.

According to sources, the directive is part of the government’s broader effort to protect India’s creator economy, film industry, broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers and distributors from digital piracy.

The ministry is learnt to have told Telegram that copyright infringement is not merely a civil violation, but also a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

Earlier, the ministry had issued a notice to Telegram, directing the platform to remove more than 3,100 channels allegedly involved in the unauthorised distribution of pirated films and OTT content.

Separately, ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination, Telegram was temporarily banned in India until June 22. The NEET-UG examination, originally conducted on May 3, was cancelled on May 12 following reports of a question paper leak. The case was subsequently handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation.