Madras HC Orders Telegram To Block Fraudulent Channels Impersonating PhonePe
The ruling follows PhonePe’s lawsuit, accusing Telegram of hosting scam channels redirecting funds to criminals, causing financial losses
In an interim order dated 30 October, the Madras High Court directed the messaging platform Telegram to block and delete channels and chatbots impersonating the fintech app PhonePe. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by PhonePe which alleged that fraudulent Telegram channels were redirecting funds intended for the app to scammers, resulting in financial losses.
The lawsuit raised concerns about the impersonation of PhonePe’s brand which posed serious risks to both the company and its users. In its defence, Telegram acknowledged the difficulty of identifying such channels early on but assured that it would take prompt action if flagged by PhonePe.
PhonePe committed to notifying Telegram via email whenever such channels are discovered. Justice K Kumaresh Babu instructed Telegram to block the IP addresses associated with the flagged URLs.
The ruling highlights the growing legal and regulatory scrutiny faced by Telegram in India. The platform has been previously implicated in cases involving criminal activity. In September, Star Health lodged a similar complaint with the Madras High Court regarding a hacker group, xenZen, that created Telegram chatbots to sell stolen data for $150,000.
Telegram’s global operations have also attracted attention from regulators and law enforcement, with its founder, Pavel Durov, recently arrested in France in connection with investigations into criminal activities hosted on the platform.
Telegram has also come under investigation by the Indian government for issues related to extortion and gambling, with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issuing a notice in October 2023 demanding the removal of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) from the platform.
In response to the arrest of founder, Durov, Telegram has introduced changes to its content moderation policies. The platform has added a button for reporting illegal content and incorporated artificial intelligence tools to better detect and limit illegal material in search results.
Furthermore, Telegram has committed to cooperating with judicial authorities by providing a user’s phone number and IP address when required by a court order, following a legal review. The platform plans to disclose these actions in a quarterly transparency report.
