Telegram faces fresh scrutiny in India over child abuse content, cyber fraud: Report

Telegram has come under renewed scrutiny in India after a government report reportedly identified the platform as a channel for sharing child abuse content and facilitating cyber fraud. The findings, submitted in court by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), highlight concerns over private Telegram groups allegedly being used for illegal activities, including scams and child exploitation.

Published By: Deepti Ratnam | Published: Jun 24, 2026, 10:41 AM (IST)

The nightmare is not ending for Telegram as Indian regulatory reportedly found evidence of child sexual abuse material and cyber fraud activities on the platform. The government investigation finding is submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs' Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (14C). This could intensify scrutiny of one of the world's largest messaging apps. This comes at a time when governments worldwide are increasingly focusing on digital safety, fraud, content moderation, child abuse, and more.

This report was part of the one-week ban imposed on Telegram following allegations that a leaked NEET examination question paper had been circulated through the platform. While the ban was lifted, the findings have brought attention to how instant messaging services are being used by criminal networks. Hence, authorities are facing difficulties and challenge in tackling illegal activity online.

Report submitted during court proceedings

As per report from Reuters, the government submitted a 35 page report before a court in June. The report outlines concerns regarding Telegram's aligned misuse. Additionally, the report also states that after proactively monitoring Telegram groups, the authorities found out that the platform is facilitating unlawful activities and cybercrime.

Besides this, the observation also mentions about how cybercriminals are frequently using private and closed groups to coordinate their operations. These groups recruit participants and communicate with potential victims. What's concerning is that these groups are not publicly visible, and hence, investigators faced several difficulties and challenges in identifying these criminal networks.

Online fraud and child abuse on Telegram

The report makes one of the most serious allegations regarding the dissemination of content of children's sexual abuse or sexual exploitation. Police reportedly found several Telegram groups in which this content was being shared.

The results will likely put more strain on the Telegram messaging service and other platforms in regards to more effective content control measures and greater collaboration with law enforcement agencies if illegal content is discovered.

In addition to child exploitation material, the report also noted that Telegram was allegedly used to help with financial scams and cyber fraud operations. Fakes jobs, investment scams and a variety of other operations that deceive the user into giving out money or personal information were reportedly found in author's channels.Channels containing fake jobs, investment scams and other schemes to steal money or personal information from users were reportedly found.

Popular messaging apps have been a heavy target for the cybercriminals, due to the volume of people using it, the ease of communication and the fact that these apps provide communities for cybercriminals to form and that are hard to monitor.

Over 6.88 lakh Fraud Complaints are associated with Telegram

The magnitude of the problem seems large, says the report.

Compared with January to May 2026, authorities reportedly received 1,556 complaints involving Telegram during the same period of time. According to the report, over 6.88 lakh complaints have been reported since 2023 with regards to cyber fraud happening through Telegram.

The report doesn't state that all fraud was occurring on the Telegram platform, but it claims that Telegram has been increasingly used to organise fraud, send fraudulent links and recruit victims.

They are a reflection of the problem that is plaguing governments all over the world as messaging applications, social media sites and online payment systems proliferate.

Reasons behind Telegram scrutiny

The Indian investigation comes on the heels of other investigations conducted by governments and regulators around the world against Telegram.

In 2024, French authorities began investigating Telegram due to claims that organised crime is using the app to engage in illegal activity. The case caught international attention due to the increased concerns about the possibilities of crime networks using encrypted messaging services.

In 2024, Telegram was also the subject of criticism in South Korea due to the proliferation of pornographic DeepFakes. The use of these types of content in online communities and messaging platforms was a concern for regulators and lawmakers.

The site was briefly closed in Spain in 2024 due to legal issues stemming from supposed copyright infringement. While it was not like the situation in India, it was a demonstration that governments are keen to act against big digital platforms.

These cases reveal a worldwide discussion on how to handle the responsibilities of messaging services when it comes to stopping misuse and keeping the user's privacy.

The privacy vs. safety

Telegram has always been a platform that emphasises privacy and secure communication. The company has consistently stated that encryption and privacy measures are vital to journalists, activists, companies and the average consumer.

There are some features that can be used in ways that criminals don't want authorities to know about, however.

It's not just Telegram that is having a debate about this. Governments' pressures to gain access to information during criminal investigations have also been an issue for other technology platforms, such as messaging apps and social networks.

A balance between protecting user privacy and ensuring that platforms aren't used to carry out serious crimes is the challenge for regulators.

Telegram's policies are under attack

Telegram has denied that there is a lot of illegal content on its platform. The company, in its reply to the Indian court, stated that less than 0.1 per cent of content is unlawful on its platform.

The company believes it diligently eliminates harmful material, implements platform policies and, when required by law, works with organizations to address the problem. Telegram has also claimed it is investing in technology to identify and delete content it deems to be in violation of its rules.

Nevertheless, regulators in several countries are still mulling over the effectiveness of the current protections in the face of the platform's size and the complexity of today's modern cybercrime networks.

Get latest Tech and Auto news from Techlusive on our WhatsApp Channel, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and YouTube.