Indian Court Rejects Appeal Over Telegram App Ban

India’s High Court Upholds Temporary Ban on Telegram App

A New Delhi court has upheld a temporary ban on the Telegram social media app, following allegations that channels on the platform were selling leaked questions for undergraduate medical entrance exams. The ruling comes after a closed-door hearing between Telegram and Indian officials.

The Ministry of Information Technology had previously stated that channels on Telegram were selling exam questions, which could mislead candidates. India cancelled the results of the test earlier this year due to allegations of leaked questions. The case has drawn attention as one of the most closely watched legal clashes between a global tech company and the Indian government.

Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, had publicly criticized the ban, stating that it penalized users who had already disseminated exam leaks elsewhere. However, the court has ruled that the government’s orders were reasoned and followed strict legal procedure.

The ban was implemented after days of private arguments between Telegram and Indian officials. Telegram claimed that the government’s account of the meetings was “one-sided and inaccurate” and intentionally omitted details of the company’s proactive efforts to remove unlawful content. The app had previously taken down over 900 links involving exam-related content.

India is not the only country to have cracked down on Telegram, with China and Iran maintaining long-term bans since 2015 and 2018, respectively. The platform also faces regulatory pressure in other countries, including a French investigation into Durov over alleged failures to curb criminal content.

Source: Al Jazeera