Security News > 2022 > September > Indian court directs chat app Telegram to disclose details of copyright infringers

A ruling handed down from the Delhi High Court this week declared that Telegram must hand over information such as IP addresses, mobile numbers, and devices used by channels on the platform involved in copyright infringement.

On behalf of Telegram, the platform's senior counsel, Amit Sibal, said that the arrangement already in place directing Telegram to take down the infringing channels was "Sufficient to protect the interest of the plaintiffs."

Citing clause 8.3, Sibal noted: "If Telegram receives a court order that confirms you're a terror suspect, we may disclose your IP address and phone number to the relevant authorities. So far, this has never happened."

Telegram also held that the encrypted data relating to the details the court wants disclosed is located in a datacenter in Singapore, with the platform saying it wouldn't be able to decrypt the data under Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act, 2012.

The judge ruled that "Merely due to the fact that the persons disseminating the copyrighted works, are using the Telegram app and the said app retains its data outside India, on Telegram servers, the jurisdiction of this Court cannot be ousted" because, among others things, the infringement is "Unabashedly continuing within India," the copyrighted material belongs to an India-based rightsholder, and the "Likelihood" that the people behind the infringing channels, and the data uploads, are all taking place in India.

She went on to direct Telegram to disclose the details of accounts/channels that have uploaded the plaintiff's infringed material within two weeks "In a sealed cover."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/telegram_court_ip/