The Indian government has imposed temporary restrictions on Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG medical entrance re-examination, citing concerns over the spread of fake exam papers and answer keys. The move has sparked a heated response from Telegram's billionaire founder Pavel Durov and an ongoing court battle in the Delhi high court.
India is not the first country to take action against the app, with governments across the world restricting, suspending, or investigating Telegram. From Russia and Iran to Brazil and China, the platform has faced scrutiny due to its ability to facilitate large-scale organisation and the spread of information.
The temporary ban on Telegram in India is set to last until June 22, covering the June 21 NEET re-examination and its immediate aftermath. Authorities have accused the platform of allowing scammers to post generic messages before exams and later editing them to insert actual questions, creating the impression they had prior access to the paper.
Telegram has challenged the order in the Delhi high court, arguing that blocking the entire platform punishes more than 150 million Indian users while doing little to stop bad actors. The platform has also been directed to disable message editing for already posted messages in India until June 30.
India's move is part of a broader global trend of governments cracking down on Telegram due to concerns over national security, misinformation, political mobilisation, extremist content, or copyright disputes. The platform has faced restrictions in countries including Pakistan, Cuba, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and Belarus, among others.
