- Information Ministry gave notice to Telegram to stop online piracy.
- The platform has received instructions to identify and remove pirated content.
- Strengthen the grievance redressal system and take action against violators.
- Mandatory to submit anti-piracy action report within 15 days.
Notice to Telegram: Recently, a new feature called username was introduced on the social media platform WhatsApp, after which this issue has come into discussion very fast. Actually, many questions were being raised on the username, after which the government has banned this feature. Now after WhatsApp, the government has also issued a notice to Telegram.
In fact, to curb online piracy in India, the central government has now taken a strict stance against the messaging platform Telegram. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has issued a notice to Telegram directing it to strengthen its anti-piracy system within 15 days and submit a report on the action taken on it. The government says that a large number of pirated movies, OTT content and many copyrighted content are being shared on the platform, which is causing huge losses to the film industry and creator economy.
What did the government say to Telegram
According to the information, the Ministry has given clear instructions to Telegram to prepare a strong method for identifying, reporting, blocking access to and removing pirated films and copyright infringing audio-video content present on its platform.
Apart from this, the government believes that merely removing the content after receiving the complaint is not enough. The platform itself will have to take necessary steps to identify such content and remove it in time.
Demand for Grievance Redressal
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also asked Telegram for complete information about its Grievance Redressal System. The government wants to know how film producers, OTT platforms, broadcasters and law enforcement agencies can file complaints about pirated content and how fast action is taken on those complaints.
Action against repeat violators
The government has also asked Telegram to take strict action against those users and networks who repeatedly share pirated content. This includes not only personal accounts but also channels, groups, bots, admins and many networks associated with them. The purpose of this step of the government is to eliminate the entire network which continuously delivers pirated copies of films and web series to the people.
Report will have to be given in 15 days
The government has directed Telegram to submit a detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days. In this report, the platform will have to tell what steps it has taken to identify, stop and remove pirated content. If the report is not submitted within the stipulated time, the government can consider further action under the existing legal provisions.
Responsibility under IT law and copyright law
The government has told Telegram that as an intermediary in India, it will have to take necessary precautions under the IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021.
The government says that the purpose of this action is to protect the interests of India’s rapidly growing creator economy, film industry, OTT platforms, broadcasters, film producers and distributors. If pirated content becomes easily available on digital platforms, it will not only cause financial loss to the content creators but will also have a direct impact on the industry. For this reason, the government is now taking strict steps towards fixing accountability at the platform level.
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