Telegram app ban imminent? Kerala HC seeking central government views

WhatsApp rival messaging app Telegram might be in huge trouble over public interesting litigation (PIL) filed in the Kerala High Court against the encrypted messaging platform, demanding a ban on the app. The Kerala HC is now seeking central government's views on this demand for a ban on Telegram, creating more trouble for the Russian app.

What's the matter

The PIL has been filed against Telegram in the Kerala High Court raising concerns over obscene content related to woman, children and terrorism being circulated on the platform. Responding to the plea, the Kerala High Court on Friday sought the views of the central government on the issue. The matter will reportedly be heard after three weeks.

Earlier this week, a law student named Athena Solomon K filed a petition in the Kerala High Court. Seeking a ban on Telegram, Solomon reportedly said the app was used to promote videos related to child abuse and terrorism. Solomon also noted Telegram remained unregulated in India. Solomon is a student of the National Law School of India University Bengaluru.

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Telegram is yet to respond.

Of late, legal cases and public interest litigations against Internet platforms and companies have been on the rise. In the past, we have seen PILs being filed against PUBG Mobile game, TikTok, WhatsApp, etc.

While the central government is tasked to finalise amendments to intermediary guidelines towards making online platforms more accountable for the activities made by its users, the process is often time-consuming. However, the draft guidelines are more in favour of traceability on encrypted apps like Telegram, which has implemented an end-to-end protocol, making it difficult to trace messages back to the originals to the originator.

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Last year, Russia banned the use of Telegram in the country.

Last month, the Apex court asked the Central government to file an affidavit with regards to drafting guidelines to prevent misuse of online, social media platforms.

Telegram is one of the popular messaging apps with more than 200 million monthly active users.

Picture: Getty