News & Media 23rd Jun 2026
Our Partner, Vinay Butani shares his insight in ET LegalWorld, “Legal experts discuss Telegram ban and what it says about India’s digital enforcement.”
He highlights that blocking an entire platform is not new. In June 2020 the Government used Section 69A to block Tiktok and several other Chinese apps on national security grounds, and those directions still stand and were never successfully overturned. So the existence of a power to block at platform level is unlikely to be the main contest in court. It is also worth remembering that these Rules were written in 2009, before large social media platforms became common. The safeguards exist, but the way platforms have since grown may be reason to look again at whether platform-wide blocks call for additional protections. The law here must hold two legitimate public interests in balance: protecting people’s privacy, and allowing investigators to pursue serious crimes such as organized paper-leak rackets.
As per the rules of the Bar Council of India, lawyers and law firms are not permitted to solicit work or advertise. By clicking on the "I Agree" button, you acknowledge and confirm that you are seeking information relating to Economic Laws Practice (ELP) of your own accord and there has been no advertisement, personal communication, solicitation, invitation or any other inducement of any sort whatsoever by or on behalf of ELP or any of its members to solicit any work through this website.