Dear Ministry of IT, If Telegram can be restricted for NEET integrity, Why not slack and Microsoft teams too?

The Indian government’s decision to temporarily suspend Telegram access during the NEET AND 2026 re-examination was justified on a simple principle: when a platform is allegedly being used to facilitate exam fraud, authorities may intervene to protect the integrity of a national examination.

The move was backed by the National Testing Agency (NTA)which argued that Telegram channels, groups, and bots had become hubs for fake question paper leaks, misinformation campaigns, and financial scams targeting students and parents. The government subsequently invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to impose a time-bound restriction.

But this raises an obvious question.

If exam fraudsters migrate to other communication platforms, should the same standard apply there as well?

Reports and investigations over the years have shown that organised cheating networks do not limit themselves to a single platform. Encrypted messaging applications, workplace collaboration tools, private chat groups, cloud-sharing services, and invite-only communities have all been used at various times to coordinate illicit activities.

If scammers are indeed using Slack or Microsoft Teams to circulate alleged leaked examination papers, share answer keys, coordinate impersonation schemes, or conduct fraud operations targeting students, then authorities should examine those platforms with the same seriousness applied to Telegram.

The issue is not the name of the platform. The issue is the misuse of the platform.

The government’s stated rationale for the Telegram restriction was the protection of examination integrity and prevention of criminal activity during a sensitive national examination. If similar misuse is occurring elsewhere, enforcement should be consistent regardless of whether the service is a messaging app, a workplace collaboration platform, or a social network.

At the same time, any action must remain evidence-based, proportionate, and legally justified. Millions of legitimate users rely on Slack and Microsoft Teams for education, business operations, professional communication, and collaboration. Any restriction would therefore require clear proof of widespread abuse and a demonstrated inability to address the problem through targeted enforcement measures.

The broader lesson from the Telegram case is that exam security cannot depend solely on content moderation after the fact. Authorities, platforms, and examination bodies must work together to identify fraud networks before they can exploit digital tools.

For students, the safest course remains unchanged: trust only official examination authorities for information and avoid any individual or group claiming access to leaked question papers. In almost every major examination scandal, the biggest victims have been students who were misled by fraudsters promising access to confidential material that either never existed or was itself part of a scam.

The challenge is not Telegram, Slack, Microsoft Teams, or any single platform. The challenge is ensuring that digital spaces are not weaponised against the credibility of India’s examinations.