The Indian government has launched an investigation into social media platform Telegram over concerns that it is being used for criminal activities such as extortion and gambling. The probe follows the arrest arrest from the app’s CEO, Pavel Durov, in France over the weekend.
Telegram faces potential ban in India
According to recent reports According to Indian media, the investigation is being led by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The report notes that Telegram has over 5 million registered users in India, making it one of the most widely used messaging platforms in the country.
However, the government’s concerns stem from allegations that the app’s peer-to-peer communication capabilities were allegedly explored by “bad actors to facilitate illicit activities.”
The fact that Telegram does not have an office in India is complicating the government’s efforts to regulate and investigate the platform, despite the app’s compliance with India’s information technology (IT) rules.
Reports suggest that the app may even face a potential prohibit in India, depending on the findings of the investigation.
Durov accused of enabling criminal activities
The investigation in India took on added significance after Durov’s arrest at Paris-Le Bourget airport on Saturday, as reported by Bitcoinist.
Durov, who holds citizenship in Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and St. Kitts and Nevis, is accused of failing to contain criminal activities on its platform in the European country.
French authorities have suggested that Telegram’s encryption tools have allowed criminals to “flourish” on the app. However, Telegram has hit back, insisting that the company complies with European Union (EU) content moderation laws and policies, and calling the claims “absurd.”
The arrest has reportedly sparked a backlash from Russian politicians, with some suggesting it could be “politically motivated”. Russia’s top human rights official, Tatyana Moskalkova, said French authorities arrested Durov because they wanted to shut down the censorship-free platform.
Toncoin (TON) price drops
Amid these growing legal troubles for the messaging app, Toncoin (TON), the cryptocurrency originally developed by Telegram, has seen losses of more than 20% in the past seven days and is currently trading at $5.39.
However, within a 24-hour period, the token also suffered a price drop of nearly 8%, further demonstrating the bearish sentiment around the price of TON among investors after the news was released over the weekend.
CoinGecko data also shows that the token also suffered a 66% drop in trading volume and a 34% difference from its all-time high reached in June this year.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com