Law enforcement officials in Manipur have launched a probe into allegations that sexually explicit images and videos of local women, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), are being shared and sold on Telegram without their consent.
“On receiving credible information that administrators and users across multiple Telegram channels were circulating, trading, and monetising non-consensual explicit videos and photographs of local Manipuri women, including the distribution of CSAM, we’ve registered an FIR at Moirang police station and launched an investigation codenamed Operation Dignity,” Manipur Police said in a post on X.
To date, police have arrested 13 individuals, including a minor, in connection with the case, with further investigation underway into the wider network, financial trails, and more victims.
Why this matters: Telegram is used by 950 million users worldwide, out of which 150 million are from India, making the country its biggest market. In the past, the app has positioned itself as a custodian of user privacy.
However, the platform has been facing intense global and domestic scrutiny over allegations that its privacy features, public channels, and lax content moderation make it a hub for the spread of CSAM.
Telegram says it has a zero-tolerance policy against CSAM. In 2026 alone, the app claimed to have removed 4.5 million CSAM-related groups and channels.
However, the Manipur case highlights that the platform is not doing enough to prevent offenders from sharing non-consensual sexual imagery of women and children.
Telegram’s official safety defenses
- Automated Hash Databases: Telegram automatically checks public images against a database of known CSAM hashes. In recent years, it expanded this system by integrating databases from globally recognized organizations like the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).
- Public Content vs. Private Chats: While Telegram employs AI-driven and manual moderation for public channels and group chats, its standard personal chats and “Secret Chats” use end-to-end encryption, meaning the platform cannot view or automatically scan that private data.
- Transparency Reports: The platform publishes daily metrics on the removal and blocking of CSAM-related groups and channels.
Regulatory scrutiny of Telegram over CSAM concerns
| Country/Authority | Action Taken | Reason |
| India | IT ministry has issued multiple notices since 2023, warning Telegram it would lose safe harbour if it did not remove CSAM. | Cyber criminals use Telegram to access closed groups/channels and its privacy features allows them to mask their identity. |
UK | In April 2026, Ofcom launched a probe into Telegram under Online Safety Act. | Concerns that Telegram fails to deploy adequate systems to prevent offenders from sharing child sexual abuse imagery. |
| Apple App Store | Apple implemented a brief, albeit global takedown of the Telegram app. | App Store inspectors flagged instances where CSAM bypassed Telegram’s safeguards in public chats. |
| Australia | eSafety Commission slapped a fine of $610,000 on the platform in 2025. | Telegram failed to respond timely to inquiries regarding steps taken to identify CSAM and extremist content. |
India’s crackdown on Telegram extends beyond CSAM-related content.
- MeitY blocked the platform in India until June 22 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, after Telegram channels allegedly circulated leaked question papers.
- A separate order required Telegram to disable the message-editing feature for previously sent messages until June 30.
Broader action
Telegram is not the only social media intermediary which has come under government scrutiny over CSAM-related violations. In July this year, the Centre sent a notice to Meta over child sexual exploitative and abuse material appearing in paid advertisements on Instagram.
The action followed a BBC investigation that found Instagram was running paid advertisements promoting CSAM in India, some of which linked users to Telegram channels selling such content for a fee.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took suo motu cognisance of the BBC report on July 3 and opened a formal inquiry on August 4. It summoned Meta India’s managing director twice in September.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) directed Delhi Police to investigate and examine whether Meta met its reporting duties under Sections 19 and 20 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which require reporting such offences to the police.
In September, the NHRC sought reports from MeitY, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Delhi Police, and noted that Section 79 of the IT Act does not absolve platforms of their POCSO obligations.
Since then, both Meta and Google have agreed to report CSAM directly to Indian authorities.
Recent reports suggest the Home Affairs Ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has directed social media platforms to integrate with the Sahyog Portal for reporting CSAM.
Earlier this month, Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi directed child rights body NCPCR to fast-track the implementation of AI tool to detect CSAM.
What have the courts said
Last month, the Supreme Court of India gave the Centre a final deadline to file its response on what action and precautions MeitY and the Ministry of Law and Justice have taken in response to the issue of CSAM on online and social media platforms.
The SC also asked the ministries to explain how they intend to prevent lapses in curbing the spread of CSAM on social media.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for tomorrow, October 15.
What has the SC said about intermediary responsibility in CSAM content? In 2024, the SC said that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO, 2012) Act and Rules (2020) require intermediaries to report CSAM material to local authorities and concerned police officials.
It has been brought to the notice of this Court that social media intermediaries do not report such cases of child abuse and exploitation to the local authorities specified under POCSO and rather only comply with the requirements stipulated in the MOU.
In view of the salutary object and the mandatory character of the provisions of Sections 19 and 20 of the POCSO read with Rule 11 of the POCSO Rules, we are of the considered view, that an intermediary cannot claim exemption from the liability under Section 79 of the IT Act for any third-party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted by it, unless due diligence is conducted by it and compliance is made of these provisions of the POCSO.
We are also of the view that such due diligence includes not only removal of child pornographic content but also making an immediate report of such content to the concerned police units in the manner specified under the POCSO Act and the Rules thereunder.” — Supreme Court (2024)
Also read:
- Meta deploys AI tools to detect child abuse ads, says it actioned 5.3 million content items in India
- Can children agree to social media terms? Supreme Court asks Centre to respond
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