‘Leaks moved to different apps’: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov criticises momentary ban forward of NEET-UG re-exam
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Tuesday criticised the federal government’s momentary ban on the messaging app forward of the NEET-UG re-examination, saying it punishes extraordinary customers of the app.
He mentioned that the ban impacts and “punishes” 150M+ extraordinary customers in India and never those that leaked the papers.
“India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week as a result of some customers shared leaked examination questions. This punishes 150M+ extraordinary Telegram customers in India — not the insiders who leaked the examination supplies,” he mentioned on X.
Durov added that the ban has not stopped something and that the leaks have moved to completely different apps.
“And the ban hasn’t stopped something. The leaks simply moved to different apps.”
Additionally Learn: Blocking Telegram a foul thought: CBSE OSM whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant flags NTA’s ‘incompetency’
Why is Telegram banned?
With just some days to go to the re-examination of NEET-UG on June 21, the Nationwide Testing Company (NTA) uncovered a large-scale rip-off community working on Telegram.
In a video message, NTA Director Common Abhishek Singh defined intimately that the messaging app was operating two rip-off rackets to focus on college students.
First, some channels are demanding ₹14,000 to ₹25,000, even as much as 10 lakh, claiming they’ll ship the re-exam paper. The company mentioned that these claims are “not true.”
“There isn’t any leaked paper for the re-exam. The cash is gone the second you switch it. Your admit card and WhatsApp quantity, in the event you despatched them, develop into the instruments they use to rip-off the following pupil.”
Second, the scamsters will present faux “proof” movies displaying chats from earlier than the examination. The testing company defined the trick: “On Telegram, whoever runs a channel can edit any previous message AND change what’s inside it, whereas the date on the message stays the identical. So a message edited on the 4th will be made to look precisely prefer it was despatched on the first.”
NTA urged college students and fogeys to not fall for related methods that might be tried once more after June 21. It additional requested college students to not ahead the message or pay anybody.
IIT Madras director, V Kamakoti, additionally demonstrated how edited timestamps and reused messages could possibly be used to manufacture “proof” of paper leaks even when none existed.
Additionally Learn: Delhi courtroom permits NEET leak accused take re-test: ‘Proper to training basic’
App banned on Google, Apple to comply with swimsuit
The federal government requested Google, Apple to delist the Telegram app from their app shops until June 22 to examine paper leaks through the upcoming re-examination
As of June 16, 9 pm, the app is banned on Android and is anticipated to be banned on Apple gadgets.
Android telephone customers, whereas attempting to obtain the Telegram app from the Google Play Retailer, see the message “this app shouldn’t be obtainable”. Those that have already downloaded the app could face restrictions whereas utilizing it, PTI reported.
Whereas Apple’s App Retailer was displaying the app, the brand new account couldn’t be activated on iPhones.
The federal government can be in dialogue with Telegram to briefly disable the message modifying function until June 30, which permits present customers to edit their previous messages in addition to add any new content material, PTI mentioned citing sources.
Web Freedom Basis criticises ban
The Worldwide Freedom Basis additionally criticised the momentary ban of the messaging app, saying it objects to the instructions introduced in NTA’s press launch on motion in opposition to the Telegram platform.
The muse referred to as the ban “blunt” and “constitutionally incompatible.”
“On the NTA’s suggestion, the Ministry of Electronics and Info Know-how has, underneath Part 69A of the Info Know-how Act, 2000, restricted entry to the entire of Telegram in India till 22 June 2026, and has individually ordered the platform to modify off message-editing for each Indian person till 30 June 2026.”
“It is a blunt, nationwide measure aimed on the conduct of rampant fraud rackets, and on the Authorities’s personal admission is constitutionally incompatible,” it mentioned on X.
It added that the ban is a “band assist resolution and is a disproportionate reply to examination fraud.”
The muse added that underneath part 69A and the Blocking Guidelines of 2009 framed underneath it permits the federal government to ban solely particular “info” on a pc useful resource.
“They don’t prolong to switching off a complete middleman, nonetheless much less to ordering an organization to revamp its product by eradicating a function for a complete nation,” it mentioned.
The nationwide examination is being carried out once more on June 21, after the federal government introduced cancellation of the earlier examination held on Might 3 amid allegations of paper leak.
“We is not going to let something go incorrect. We’ll take all attainable actions to make sure that the examination is carried out with none malpractice,” NTA director informed PTI.
