New Delhi: The government has made serious allegations against the messaging app Telegram in the affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court. The Center says that Telegram has now become the favorite platform of criminals, cyber fraudsters and extremist groups. The government has termed it as the ‘new dark web’, where dangerous people are active to escape from the law.
Telegram became the hub of many illegal activities
According to India Today TV, the government said in the affidavit that crimes like NEET paper leak, cyber fraud, terrorist propaganda, material related to sexual exploitation of children, drug smuggling and economic crimes are happening openly on Telegram.
“Criminals post links to deep web and dark web forums on Telegram channels. This makes it extremely difficult for investigative agencies to track their identity and location,” the government wrote.
Privacy feature becomes a shield for criminals
The Center alleges that Telegram’s privacy and anonymity features make it attractive to criminal networks. Users can hide phone numbers and IDs, making it a challenge for investigative agencies to access the real identity.
It was said in the affidavit that due to these features, the use of Telegram has increased for drug smuggling, cyber crime, terrorism, child exploitation and scams. Violent extremist content and material related to terrorist organizations are also being spread through groups and channels.
Increase in child exploitation and cyber fraud
The most serious allegation concerns the dissemination of material related to the sexual exploitation of children. The government said that this is the biggest concern for the agencies that keep an eye on online platforms.
Quoting data from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, the government said that complaints of misuse of Telegram for cyber fraud have increased rapidly. Buying and selling of Mule Bank accounts is also taking place on Telegram channels, which are used in money laundering and cyber crime money transfer.
Allegations of malware and data leak also
According to the government, some dangerous Android apps use Telegram as a command-and-control platform. Through these, users’ data and device information is stolen.
Giving examples in the affidavit, it was said that some channels are selling such tools which protect the malware from the security system. Other channels are promoting malware that looks like financial apps. Access to mobile numbers, Aadhaar details and leaked databases has also become easier through Telegram bots.
Piracy is also causing loss
The government said that pirated movies, web series and copyrighted content are being shared on a large scale on Telegram channels. Due to this, content creators are facing losses and questions are being raised on intellectual property.
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