Ministry of Information and Broadcasting invokes IT Act intermediary provisions in one of its most sweeping anti-piracy actions to date
In a sharp demonstration of its newly sharpened digital enforcement teeth, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has ordered Telegram to disable over 3,000 channels distributing pirated movies, web series, and audiobooks giving the platform a mere three hours to comply.
The March 11 notification, issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and the 2021 Intermediary Guidelines, cited blatant copyright violations affecting film studios, OTT platforms including Amazon Prime, Jio Hotstar and SonyLiv, and audio platform KukuFM. The annexed list ran to 120 pages, detailing channel URLs, content links, and specific films among them KGF Chapter 2, Kantara, and Bhool Chuk Maaf.
The three-hour deadline is no accident. Amendments to the IT Rules, which came into force on February 20, 2026, dramatically compressed the window available to platforms for compliance and non-compliance carries a severe consequence: loss of safe harbour protection, exposing Telegram to direct liability for user-generated content.
The stakes are considerable. India accounts for 8.12% of global piracy traffic nearly 17.56 billion visits annually ranking second only to the United States.
The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the era of leisurely compliance is over.
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