Telegram Called 'New Dark Web' by Delhi High Court Over NEET-UG Ban Challenge

The central government Thursday told the Delhi high court that social media platform Telegram has now become a "new dark web" making it hard for the authorities to "track and attribute" criminals.

In an affidavit filed in response to Telegram's plea challenging the government's move to temporarily restrict access to the app ahead of the June 21 NEET-UG retest, the government countered that the "scale of the said channel itself demonstrates the capability of Telegram to facilitate mass dissemination of unlawful examination-related content".

"Telegram has become the new dark web, linking threat actors. Criminals have rapidly adopted Telegram to post links on channels that connect to dark web forums through deep web links, making it hard for authorities to track and attribute criminals," the counter affidavit read as per Bar & Bench.

The goverment futher said: "When such information becomes repetitive and rampant, the only option is to block all information hosted by the intermediary, since technically it is not possible to segregate the unlawful content from the lawful content."

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The high court on Wednesday sought the Centre's stand on the ban imposed on messaging app Telegram even as the government claimed there is "shocking material" which it will share with court.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, had sought a day's time and said the government had been communicating its concerns to Telegram since May.

Telegram's counsel claimed the curbs were illegal and questioned the legality of the blanket order blocking the platform. Senior advocate Dhruv Mehta informed the HC that over 150 million users had been affected.

SG Mehta said the blocking order had been issued under Sec 69A of IT Act and that a post-decisional hearing had already been conducted where Telegram's representatives participated before the nodal agency, and a fresh order was expected.

"We shudder to imagine a situation where there is public unrest," SG Tushar Mehta submitted before a bench of Justice Tejas Karia.

"There are 150 million users in the country. You block everything. Article 14 is completely violated," Telegram's counsel Mehta said.

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"All content and channels that were requested by the govt have been removed," Telegram's counsel told the court, adding that no emergency has been recorded in govt's decision to justify the ban.

"Students obtain study material through Telegram. Educators use it. Businesses use it. You have blocked everything," the counsel pointed out, arguing the decision to ban failed to acknowledge actions already taken by Telegram in response to govt requests.

According to Telegram, since June 1 several meetings had been held with govt authorities, and whenever specific channels were identified, the platform acted upon requests for blocking them.

"If the court will hear us tomorrow, there is something shocking I can show. One channel starts, it is prohibited, and then another is started. And with a QR code, you can make a payment for questions," Mehta had aruged.

Justice Karia then sought to know if "complete" blocking of the platform is "proportionate".

Meanwhile, a vacation bench led by Justice Tejas Karia reserved the order after hearing submissions from senior advocate Dhruv Mehta, appearing for Telegram, and Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre. The court also directed both sides to file their written submissions by 7 pm.