I&B Ministry
European trust in media: radio outshines social networks, TV falls steeply
NEW DELHI: This one will make radio fans go ga-ga with delight.
Radio still remains the number one trusted source of news for European citizens even as the overall perception of the trustworthiness of the media has decreased over the last five years.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) also found that social media, increasingly the primary source of news, is the least trusted, and even a distrusted medium in Europe.
The annual Eurobarometer survey showed that although trust has decreased for radio as well, it remains by far the most trusted source of information. Most countries show a positive attitude towards radio and it came out as the primary trusted source in 20 countries, with an average of 55% positive response. Particularly high scores came from Sweden (74%), Finland (66%) and Denmark (57%).
Television, the second most trusted medium, is still the number one source in 11 countries but trust in television has decreased much more rapidly over the last year than the other media – with 10 points as opposed to radio, which only fell by three points, and the written press, the internet, and social media which decreased by only one point.
In only one out of 33 countries surveyed, Albania, the number of people who trusted social media as a source of news outweighed those who tended not to. In all other countries people “tend not to trust” social networks, with those in Sweden, Luxembourg, and Britain having the least trust in social networks as a source of information.
The internet also scored particularly low, as in the majority of countries, people “tend not to trust” it. Only 12 countries had positive results, most of which are in Southeast Europe.
The written press is not perceived to be much more trustworthy than the internet.
Only 13 countries showed positive results, mostly in Nordic and Benelux regions where people have more trust in the press. In 14 countries it is regarded as the least trusted medium.
Roberto Suárez Candel, head of Media Intelligence Service at EBU, told The Guardian that the results did not come as a surprise: “People maintain a strong relationship with radio and TV, which are still their primary sources of information and entertainment.”
“It is also not surprising that in countries with a high level of funding for public service TV and radio there tends to be more trust in the media in general – they produce good quality content and provide valuable information for society,” he told The Guardian.
I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
