Centre blocks 4,996 Telegram channels in anti-piracy crackdown

• The Union government has directed intermediaries to disable 7,393 URLs, including 1,263 websites and 4,996 Telegram channels to tackle film piracy, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs L. Murugan said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on August 5.

Anti-piracy enforcement

• The Indian film industry is one of the biggest and most globalised industries in the world producing more than 3,000 films annually in more than 40 languages.

• The film industry has been impacted by the advent of new digital technology, decline in number of the people visiting cinema theatres, increase in piracy of the films through internet or social media, copyright violations and the like which in turn also causes loss to the government exchequer.

• The government has strengthened the legal and institutional framework to deal with online piracy of cinematograph films, including unauthorised dissemination of films through intermediaries such as Telegram. 

• The Cinematograph Act, 1952 was amended through the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 to introduce specific provisions to curb unauthorised recording and exhibition of films. 

• The newly inserted Section 7(1B)(ii) empowers the government, under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to take action against intermediaries hosting pirated content.

• Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 provides for notification by appropriate governments to the intermediaries for removing/disabling access to unlawful content. 

• The government of India has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021) under IT Act, 2000. 

• Part-II of the IT Rules, 2021 relating to intermediaries, including social media intermediaries,  casts specific obligations on intermediaries relating to information hosted, displayed, uploaded, published, transmitted, stored or shared on their platforms. 

• Under the IT Rules, 2021, the intermediaries are required to remove any content violative of any law for the time being in force as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by appropriate government or its authorised agency.

• On receipt of complaints regarding piracy of films, the ministry issues notifications to intermediaries directing them to remove or disable access to infringing content expeditiously. 

• The government has authorised the Joint Secretary (Films), Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to issue content takedown notices to intermediaries under the Information Technology Rules, 2021 and the Cinematograph Act, 1952. 

• An institutional mechanism has also been established in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to receive complaints from copyright holders regarding pirated copies of films available on the internet and to issue notifications to intermediaries for disabling access to such content.