Telegram CEO Pavel Durov criticized the Indian government's temporary ban on the messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination, stating that it punishes ordinary users rather than those responsible for the leaks. The ban, which affects over 150 million users in India, has not stopped the leaks, which have simply moved to other apps.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) exposed a large-scale scam network operating on Telegram, with scammers demanding money from students in exchange for fake exam papers. The agency urged students and parents not to fall for similar tricks during the re-examination on June 21.
The government has asked Google and Apple to delist the Telegram app from their app stores until June 22, and is in discussion with Telegram to temporarily disable the message editing feature until June 30.
The International Freedom Foundation has criticized the ban, calling it "blunt" and "constitutionally incompatible." The foundation argues that the ban is a disproportionate response to exam fraud and that the government should have taken more targeted action.
