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In a large crackdown, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting connected Wednesday (March 11, 2026) directed the Telegram messaging exertion to instantly region implicit 3,100 of its channels done which copyright-protected contented belonging to OTT platforms and producers was allegedly being circulated.
Telegram did not person an contiguous effect to the Ministry’s directions erstwhile approached by The Hindu for comment.
Telegram has been asked to instrumentality down the channels, including their content, which violated the Copyright Act, wrong 3 hours of receiving the intimation, a root successful the authorities said.
The Information Technology Act provides harmless harbour extortion to intermediaries, including messaging applications, from liability for immoderate 3rd enactment information, data, oregon connection nexus hosted oregon transmitted by them. However, the extortion does not use if they neglect to expeditiously region oregon disable entree to the contented hosted connected their platforms that interruption immoderate law, connected receiving accusation astir the aforesaid done a tribunal bid oregon notification by the authorities oregon its agency.
It is learnt that the Ministry has identified respective Telegram channels that person much than 2,000 pirated links, with implicit 150 channels having much than 500 specified links that violated the Copyright Act.
The unlawful contented flagged chiefly consists of copyright-protected works hosted by large OTT platforms, specified arsenic Amazon, Jio, and Sony, and accumulation houses. The contented types scope from fashionable web series, animated series, movies, and tv serials, including regular soap operas and world shows, to audio stories and podcasts.
