New Delhi — Telegram has submitted its response to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s notice on its username feature, according to people familiar with the matter.
The government is reviewing submissions from both Telegram and WhatsApp, which has also responded to a similar notice.
The username feature allows users to communicate without sharing their mobile phone numbers. The functionality has drawn scrutiny from the Centre over concerns that it could be misused for online fraud, phishing, impersonation and “digital arrest” scams.
The ministry had issued a notice to WhatsApp last week over its proposed username feature and directed the company not to roll it out in India until consultations are completed to the government’s satisfaction.
IT Secretary S. Krishnan said earlier this week that WhatsApp’s response was expected by Thursday. He also confirmed that similar notices had been issued to Telegram and Signal, with the government seeking details on safeguards adopted by the platforms to address fraud and impersonation risks.
“We will await the formal response to the notice that we have issued, and thereafter we will take a view based on what the response is,” Krishnan said.
Separately, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently directed ministry officials to seek an explanation from Meta over the alleged presence of child sexual abuse material in advertisements on Instagram. (Source: IANS)
