India orders temporary ban on Telegram over exam fraud concerns | TechCrunch

Last day to exhibit your breakthrough to 10,000+ tech leaders at Disrupt is on Oct 2. Book Exhibit Table Now. Disrupt doors open Oct. 13. Get your pass and bring someone with you at 50% off. REGISTER NOW. India has issued an order to block Telegram until June 22, citing concerns that fraudsters are using the messaging platform to target students ahead of a re-test of the country’s biggest entrance exam. The move was announced on Tuesday by India’s National Testing Agency, which administers the National Eligibility Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET [UG]), a medical college entrance exam taken by millions of students each year. The Agency said the restrictions were aimed at preventing people from using Telegram to sell fake exam papers and spread misinformation before the June 21 re-test of NEET. The restrictions include a nationwide temporary ban on Telegram until June 22, a day after the re-test. The Agency also wants the platform to disable its message-editing feature until June 30, arguing that the feature has been used to fabricate evidence of exam paper leaks after tests have been conducted. “Both measures have been taken in the interest of public order, in response to the or