Telegram Ban: India Fights Leaks Ahead of NEET Re-test

Ahead of the NEET-UG re-test scheduled for June 21, India's central government has ordered a temporary 24-hour ban on the messaging platform Telegram. This decisive action was taken on the recommendation of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting crucial entrance examinations.

The primary objective behind this temporary suspension is to prevent the recurrence of paper leaks and the dissemination of misinformation, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the examination process. Authorities also aim to dismantle cheating networks that operate ahead of such high-stakes tests.

Further bolstering these security measures, Telegram has been instructed to disable its message-editing functionality until June 30. The NTA cited misuse of this feature to fabricate evidence of paper leaks by altering message timestamps. These restrictions are intended to combat organized cheating rackets and the circulation of fake news related to the NEET-UG examination, especially after previous paper leaks.

In line with the government's directive, Google and Apple have removed Telegram from their respective mobile application stores. However, Telegram's founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, has voiced strong opposition, arguing that the ban unfairly penalizes over 150 million ordinary users in India without effectively addressing the root cause of the leaks, suggesting that such activities will merely shift to other platforms.