Indian government in action mode after arrest of Telegram CEO in France, will Telegram be banned?
Recently, France has arrested Pavel Durov, the CEO of the popular social media platform Telegram. The French government has made several serious allegations against Russian-born Durov, which, if proven, can result in a prison sentence of 20 years. The Indian government has also come into action mode against Telegram. The central government is preparing to take action against Durov’s social media platform. If the government finds it right during the action, the Telegram app can also be banned in India.
The Information and Technology (IT) Ministry will soon send its recommendations to the Home Ministry on various illegal activities happening through Telegram, such as money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing of pedophilic content. According to an IT Ministry official, the ministry is keeping an eye on Telegram regarding various illegal activities.
Indian Government strict on Telegram
The government has taken this decision in view of illegal activities. A large number of complaints have also been received against it, while data of its use in all the cases registered in the country already exists.
This also includes online gambling and cyber crime, while the Home Ministry has sought the opinion of the ministry regarding this app regarding many illegal activities, which will be sent to them after the meeting.
Telegram CEO arrested in France
Banning Telegram was also considered 5 years ago and now this step can also be taken on the basis of proper results. Telegram’s 39-year-old founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris on 24 August over the app’s moderation policy. Reports said that he was detained for failing to stop criminal activity on the app.
Indian government will take strict action
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) working under the Home Ministry and the IT Ministry are monitoring the person-to-person communication of Telegram. Giving information, the official said that the Telegram app has more than 50 lakh registered users in the country. Action has already been taken against suspicious accounts, but now strict action will be taken against this app.
Telegram and some other social media platforms have emerged as a platform for promoting criminal activity in the last few years. Indians have suffered losses worth crores of rupees due to cyber crime and illegal online gambling through them.
NEET question papers sold on Telegram
Telegram was recently in the news for the UGC-NEET controversy. The question paper of the medical entrance exam was leaked through this app and was allegedly shared on a large scale on Telegram. According to reports, the paper was being sold on this platform for between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000. The violations that I4C and the IT Ministry are investigating are not related to the Information Technology (IT) rules.
Action against Telegram in India
Because Telegram is not directly violating IT rules, but is also not sharing information about illegal activities that are illegal in India. In fact, under the IT rules, platforms like Telegram are required to appoint a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer and publish a monthly compliance report, which it is completing.
One of the difficulties faced by the government in dealing with the Telegram app is that this app is not run from India. This is not the first time Telegram has faced scrutiny in India. In October last year, the IT ministry issued notices to Telegram and some other social media firms, directing them to remove child sexual abuse content (CSAM) from their platforms.
India banned these platforms
Earlier on May 23, the government blocked several encrypted messaging platforms such as Briar, Element, Germany-based Cripvisor, UK-based Enigma, Switzerland-based SafeSwiss and AWS-owned WickrMe based on recommendations from the home ministry.
Recently, the IT ministry was considering blocking the end-to-end encrypted email platform Proton Mail, which was being misused to send fake bomb threats to schools, malls and even airports. Swiss authorities had to intervene to stop the government from going ahead with the ban.
