The government had earlier acted against more than 3,000 Telegram channels carrying pirated content. (Representative Image)The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Saturday issued a notice to Telegram over the alleged widespread dissemination of pirated films, OTT content, and other audio-visual material through its platform, while directing the messaging app to take corrective action within 15 days.It is learnt that the I&B ministry has also asked Telegram to strengthen its systems for the detection, reporting, disabling of access to, and removal of pirated films and infringing audio-visual content.The Ministry has directed Telegram to act against repeat infringers, including channels, groups, bots, accounts, administrators, and associated entities, while seeking details of its grievance redressal mechanism for producers, OTT platforms, and law-enforcement agencies.Telegram has been given 15 days to submit an Action Taken Report to the Ministry, detailing the measures adopted to prevent, detect, and remove pirated content from the platform.According to officials, the communication signals a shift from previous piecemeal takedown to platform accountability. The government had earlier acted against more than 3,000 Telegram channels carrying pirated content.Reminding Telegram that, as an intermediary, it is required to observe due diligence under the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology Rules, the Ministry has stated that Telegram should not be waiting for the Government to identify each of the piracy channels and also emphasised that a purely reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach may not be sufficient to demonstrate due diligence as required under the IT Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021.The I&B Ministry had underlined that copyright infringement is not just a civil violation but a criminal offence in India under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and the continued availability of pirated content, evasive compliance, or an incomplete response may invite further examination and action under the applicable legal framework.Story continues below this adOfficials said the action has been taken to protect India’s creator economy, film industry, broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers, and distributors.Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express. In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms. Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence. She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More Tags:Information and Broadcasting ministrytelegram