The ministry has sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) within 15 days, indicating a shift from content-specific takedowns to a broader framework of platform accountability.
Officials said Telegram was informed that copyright infringement constitutes not only a civil violation but also a criminal offence under the Copyright Act, 1957, and the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
"The ministry has made it clear that Telegram cannot merely wait for the government to identify each piracy channel one by one. A purely reactive, channel-by-channel takedown approach may not be enough to demonstrate due diligence by the platform, as required under the IT Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021," officials said.
The notice follows recent regulatory action by the Centre against Meta. The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) had issued a notice to Meta over its proposed username feature on WhatsApp and later decided to summon the company over Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material. Notices have also been issued to Telegram and Signal regarding their existing username features.
Sources said the ministry has sought details of Telegram's grievance redressal mechanism for producers, OTT platforms and law enforcement agencies.
A senior official said intermediaries are required to observe due diligence under the IT Act and IT Rules. "The government has made it clear that the continued availability of pirated content, evasive compliance, or an incomplete response may invite further examination and action under the applicable legal framework. The action has been taken to protect India's creator economy, film industry, broadcasters, OTT platforms, producers, and distributors," the official said.