‘Leaks moved to other apps’: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov criticises temporary ban ahead of NEET-UG re-exam

TElegram CEO Pavel Durov on tues criticised the government's temporary censor on the electronic messaging app forward of the NEET-UG re-examination, locution it punishes ordinary users of the app.He said that the ban affects and “punishes” 150M+ ordinary users in India and not those who leaked the papers.“India’s IT ministry banned Telegram for one week because some users shared leaked exam questions. This punishes 150M+ ordinary Telegram users in India — not the insiders who leaked the exam materials,” he said on X. Durov added that the ban has not stopped anything and that the leaks have moved to different apps.“And the ban hasn't stopped anything. The leaks just moved to other apps.”Also Read: Blocking Telegram a bad idea: CBSE OSM whistleblower Sarthak Sidhant flags NTA's ‘incompetency’Why is Telegram banned?With just a few days to go to the re-examination of NEET-UG on June 21, the National Testing Agency (NTA) exposed a large-scale scam network operating on Telegram.In a video message, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh explained in detail that the messaging app was running two scam rackets to target students.First, some channels are demanding ₹14,000 to ₹25,000, even up to 10 lakh, claiming they will send the re-exam paper. The agency said that these claims are “not true.”“There is no leaked paper for the re-exam. The money is gone the moment you transfer it. Your admit card and WhatsApp number, if you sent them, become the tools they use to scam the next student.” Second, the scamsters will show fake "proof" videos showing chats from before the exam. The testing agency explained the trick: “On Telegram, whoever runs a channel can edit any old message AND change what's inside it, while the date on the message stays the same. So a message edited on the 4th can be made to look exactly like it was sent on the 1st.”NTA urged students and parents to not fall for similar tricks that will be tried again after June 21. It further asked students to not forward the message or pay anyone.IIT Madras director, V Kamakoti, also demonstrated how edited timestamps and reused messages could be used to fabricate “evidence” of paper leaks even when none existed.Also Read: Delhi court allows NEET leak accused take re-test: 'Right to education fundamental'App banned on Google, Apple to follow suitThe government asked Google, Apple to delist the Telegram app from their app stores till June 22 to check paper leaks during the upcoming re-examinationAs of June 16, 9 pm, the app is banned on Android and is expected to be banned on Apple devices.Android phone users, while trying to download the Telegram app from the Google Play Store, see the message "this app is not available". Those who have already downloaded the app may face restrictions while using it, PTI reported.While Apple's App Store was showing the app, the new account could not be activated on iPhones.The government is also in discussion with Telegram to temporarily disable the message editing feature till June 30, which allows existing users to edit their old messages as well as add any new content, PTI said citing sources.Internet Freedom Foundation criticises banThe International Freedom Foundation also criticised the temporary ban of the messaging app, saying it objects to the directions announced in NTA’s press release on action against the Telegram platform.The foundation called the ban “blunt” and “constitutionally incompatible.”“On the NTA's recommendation, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has, under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, restricted access to the whole of Telegram in India until 22 June 2026, and has separately ordered the platform to switch off message-editing for every Indian user until 30 June 2026.”“This is a blunt, nationwide measure aimed at the conduct of rampant fraud rackets, and on the Government's own admission is constitutionally incompatible,” it said on X. It added that the ban is a “band aid solution and is a disproportionate answer to exam fraud.”The foundation added that under section 69A and the Blocking Rules of 2009 framed under it allows the government to ban only specific “information” on a computer resource.“They do not extend to switching off an entire intermediary, still less to ordering a company to redesign its product by removing a feature for a whole country,” it said.The nationwide exam is being conducted again on June 21, after the government announced cancellation of the previous exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak."We will not let anything go wrong. We will take all possible actions to ensure that the examination is conducted without any malpractice," NTA director told PTI.