Telegram is under investigation in India over issues related to extortion and gambling activities.
The messaging app could potentially face a ban depending on the outcome of the investigation, a government official informed Moneycontrol. Over the weekend, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris amid growing global scrutiny over the platform’s content moderation practices.
The Indian government is investigating the messaging app Telegram due to concerns that it may be used for activities like extortion and gambling, according to Moneycontrol. The investigation could result in a possible ban on the app, depending on the findings.
This follows the arrest of Telegram’s founder and CEO Pavel Durov in Paris on August 24, due to concerns over the app’s moderation policies, which allegedly failed to curb criminal activities on the platform. Tech mogul Elon Musk and whistleblower Edward Snowden both criticized the arrest.
This event occurred just days after Telegram’s 39-year-old founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in Paris on August 24. Reports indicated that he was detained due to the app’s inadequate moderation policies, which allegedly allowed criminal activities to occur on the platform.
An anonymous government official informed Moneycontrol on August 25 that “The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the MHA, along with MeitY, has been investigating peer-to-peer communications on Telegram.”
In recent years, Telegram and several other social media platforms have become hotspots for criminal activities, including scams that have defrauded citizens of crores of rupees.
Telegram recently made headlines due to the UGC-NEET controversy, sparking student protests and prompting the Supreme Court to step in. The medical entrance exam question paper was leaked and allegedly circulated extensively on Telegram, an encrypted messaging platform.
Reports indicate that the leaked exam paper was being sold on the platform for prices ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
The violations under investigation by I4C and MeitY are unrelated to the Information Technology (IT) Rules.
The IT rules require platforms like Telegram to have a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer, and to publish monthly reports. According to the official, dealing with Telegram is challenging due to the lack of a local office in India, which complicates direct communication and requests for user data.
Durov was arrested at Bourget airport near Paris by French authorities, who had reportedly been investigating the lack of moderators on Telegram. This situation allegedly allowed criminal activity to continue unchecked on the messaging app, according to reports.
In a statement issued early on August 26, the company stated that Telegram CEO Pavel Durov had nothing to hide and frequently travels across Europe. The company noted that almost a billion users worldwide rely on Telegram for communication and vital information. They expressed hope for a swift resolution to the issue and emphasized that it is unreasonable to blame the platform or its owner for misuse of the platform.
