The Indian government is investigating Telegram over concerns that the messaging app is being used for criminal activities such as extortion and gambling, according to online media outlet Moneycontrol. The report follows the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France over the weekend.
The investigation into the messaging platform is being led by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Moneycontrol wrote on Monday. The app could even be banned in India, depending on the probe findings, the publication cited a government official as saying.
Telegram is one of India’s most widely used messaging apps, boasting over five million registered users, noted Moneycontrol. The report suggests that the probe is looking into activities such as extortion and gambling allegedly facilitated through peer-to-peer communications among Telegram users.
Though the app complies with India’s Information Technology (IT) Rules, the fact that it does not have an office in the country is reportedly complicating the government’s efforts to regulate and investigate the platform.
The Russian tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov – who is also a citizen of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis – was detained upon landing in Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday. He is reportedly being accused of failing to curb criminal activities on his platform, and the app’s strong encryption tools allegedly allow criminals to flourish. The French authorities said an official statement would be issued on Monday.
A Telegram statement on Sunday insisted that the company complies with EU laws and content-moderation policies, adding that it is “absurd” to claim that Durov is responsible for the misuse of the platform by bad actors.
Many Russian politicians have condemned Durov’s arrest, with some suggesting that it could be politically motivated. Russia’s top human rights official, Tatyana Moskalkova, claimed that French authorities arrested Durov because they want to shut down the censorship-free platform. According to journalist Andrey Medvedev, Durov is a “major figure” in the current conflict with Ukraine as Telegram is effectively an alternative to closed military communication.
Multiple public figures in the West, including journalist Tucker Carlson and entrepreneur Elon Musk, have also spoken out in Durov’s defense.