From piracy to gambling, Telegram likely to be banned in India

The Indian government is investigating Telegram over its alleged usage for illegal activities such as piracy, gambling and extortion. Multiple reports claim that the messaging app is likely to be banned in India depending on the probe’s findings.

Telegram’s founder and chief executive officer Pavel Durov,39 was arrested in Paris on August 24 over the app’s moderation policies. Reports said he was detained for failing to prevent criminal activities on the app.

Reports claimed that the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) (under MHA) and MeitY have been probing into messaging app’s operations in India. The probe, being conducted by the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), was specifically looking into criminal activities such as extortion and gambling.

The official did not rule out the possibility of platform being blocked or banned in the country. Telegram has more than 5 million registered users in India.

Telegram was in the news recently over the UGC-NEET controversy, which led to student protests and forced the Supreme Court to intervene. The question paper for the medical entrance exam was leaked and was allegedly widely shared on Telegram, which is an encrypted messaging app. The paper was being sold for anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 on the platform, according to reports.

In a statement early on August 26, the company said, "Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as a means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all... It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform."