I&B Ministry asks Telegram to remove over 3,100 channels over piracy

On March 11, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) took decisive action against the popular messaging platform, Telegram, demanding the removal of over 3,100 channels involved in the distribution of pirated content from various OTT platforms and content creators. This directive follows numerous complaints received from major streaming services, including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, regarding copyright infringements. The MIB's notice explicitly instructed Telegram to eliminate access to the identified channels and all associated content within a mere three hours of receiving the communication, emphasizing the importance of preserving evidence during this process. The crackdown stems from violations of the Indian Copyright Act of 1957, which is designed to safeguard the rights of creators and producers against unauthorized exploitation of their work. The scale of this operation is unprecedented, with reports indicating that the Ministry flagged an alarming number of channels, some of which hosted over 2,000 links to pirated material. Notably, more than 150 of these channels were found to be sharing over 500 links each. The pirated content included a wide array of popular media, such as web series, animated shows, films, and television programs, along with audio stories and podcasts. Telegram's platform features, which permit file sizes of up to 2GB and prioritize user anonymity, have been exploited, facilitating the illegal sharing of 1,166 titles from various studios, including those of Amazon, Jio, and Sony. This operation marks MIB's most extensive single-platform piracy enforcement to date, following previous actions taken against 18 other platforms in 2025-26. The government's strong stance reflects an ongoing commitment to combat piracy and protect intellectual property rights in the digital age.