Centre blocks 4,996 Telegram channels and 1,263 websites in anti-piracy enforcement

The Story in Brief

The central government has reinforced legal and institutional measures to tackle online film piracy, the ministry of information and broadcasting told the Lok Sabha. Minister of State Dr L Murugan said in a written reply to Janasena MP Balashowry Vallabhaneni that 7,393 URLs have been disabled under takedown orders, including 1,263 websites and 4,996 Telegram channels. The government invoked provisions inserted by the Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, notably Section 7(1B)(ii), which works with Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to allow action against intermediaries hosting pirated content. Section 79(3)(b) permits appropriate governments to notify intermediaries to remove or disable unlawful content. Under the Information Technology Rules, 2021, intermediaries must remove content that violates law when notified by a court or the appropriate government. The ministry issues notifications on receipt of complaints and has authorised its joint secretary for films to serve takedown notices, and it runs an institutional mechanism to receive copyright complaints and issue disablement orders.

The Indian Opinion

The official account emphasises legal steps and the number of URLs disabled, which will reassure those who favour firm action against piracy. Some readers may view rapid takedowns as excessively broad or worry about potential overreach by authorities and the burden placed on intermediaries to police content. The article does not provide independent data on how these measures have reduced piracy or on safeguards such as notice-and-takedown timelines, review or appeal mechanisms for affected channels and websites. Given those gaps, ordinary readers might reasonably welcome enforcement but also want clearer information on criteria for blocking, transparency about decision-making and remedies available to content hosts and users.

Original article: Centre blocks 4,996 Telegram channels, 1,263 websites in anti-piracy crackdown (www.hindustantimes.com)

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