A government official told Moneycontrol that the government is investigating Telegram over concerns of criminal activities such as extortion and gambling, adding that the messaging app could also be banned based on the findings of the investigation. This revelation comes after Telegram’s 39-year-old founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris on August 24 over the app’s moderation policies. According to reports, he was detained for failing to prevent criminal activities on the app.
“The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) (under the Home Ministry) and MeitY are investigating P2P communications on Telegram,” a government official told Moneycontrol on August 25 on the condition of anonymity. The investigation being conducted by the Home Ministry and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is specifically focusing on criminal activities such as extortion and gambling, the official said. The official did not rule out the possibility of blocking the platform, which has over 50 lakh registered users in India, but said a decision would be taken based on whatever the investigation reveals.
Moneycontrol has reached out to Telegram for comment and the story will be updated when a response is received. In recent years, Telegram and some other social media platforms have emerged as a conducive environment for criminal activities, including scams that have caused citizens to lose crores of rupees. Recently, Telegram was in the news over the UGC-NEET controversy, which led to protests by students and the Supreme Court’s intervention. The medical entrance exam question paper was leaked and allegedly shared widely on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app. According to reports, the platform was used to send fake documents to the internet.This paper was being sold on the platform for Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
The violations that I4C and MeitY are investigating are not related to Information Technology (IT) rules. “This platform is compliant with IT rules,” the official said. According to IT rules, platforms like Telegram have to appoint a nodal officer and a chief compliance officer and publish monthly compliance reports. “It is difficult to deal with Telegram as they have no presence in India,” the source said. Authorities often face challenges in investigating platforms that do not have operations in India.
The absence of a local office hinders direct communication, complicating attempts to request user data. “We will examine any material we receive and come to a conclusion based on our laws,” the official said. Durov was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris by French authorities who were reportedly investigating the lack of moderators on Telegram. This situation allowed criminal activity to continue unabated on the messaging app, the report said.
In a statement on the morning of August 26, the company said, “Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and frequently travels to Europe. Nearly a billion users around the world use Telegram as a means of communication and a source of important information. We look forward to a speedy resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all… It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for the abuse of that platform.”
This is not the first time Telegram has faced scrutiny in India. In October, the IT ministry had issued notices to Telegram and some other social media firms directing them to remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from their platforms. On May 23, the government, based on recommendations from the Home Ministry, blocked several encrypted messaging platforms such as Briar, Elemental, Germany-based Cryptvisor, UK-based Enigma, Switzerland-based SafeSwiss and AWS-owned WickrMe.
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 imposing a ban.
Prominent tech leaders have condemned Durov’s arrest. Former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden called the arrest an “assault on the basic human rights of speech and association”. American entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan said the French government’s action was more about control than crime prevention. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said that while he had criticized Telegram’s approach to encryption in the past, the arrest raised concerns about the future of communication freedom in Europe.
