Madras High Court directs Telegram to delete channels impersonating PhonePe

The Madras High Court has directed social media platform Telegram to block and delete channels and chatbots impersonating digital payment app PhonePe.

In an interim order passed on October 30, Justice K Kumaresh Babu also directed PhonePe to inform Telegram of any spoofs or instances of infringement of its copyright, and to provide the URLs for such posts to enable Telegram to block them.

The Court was hearing a suit filed by PhonePe claiming that several channels were being used on Telegram to redirect payment meant for PhonePe towards scammers, thus causing monetary loss to the payment app company.

Counsel for Telegram told the Court that while the social media platform cannot identify or screen such impersonations on its own and block them as soon as they are posted, it will block and delete them if the breaches are brought to its notice by users and by PhonePe.

The Court accepted the counsel’s submission and directed Telegram to act on the complaints raised by PhonePe.

“The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the first respondents/defendants would submit that it would be difficult for them to block the posting even at the initial stage and would submit that as and when such postings are made and it is brought to the notice of the second respondent, the same would be blocked immediately,” the High Court recorded in its order.

Advocates P Giridharan and Arun C Mohan appeared for PhonePe.

Advocate Thriyambak J Kannan appeared for Telegram.

[Read Order]