Ministry of Information & Broadcasting press release · 18 March 2026 · pibtracker filter

Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 Strengthens Anti-Piracy Framework; Offenders Face Up to 3 Years Imprisonment and Fine up to 5% of Production Cost

PRID2241712 MinistryMinistry of Information & Broadcasting Released18 March 2026 Reading10 min

Centre Cracks Down on Piracy with 3,142 Telegram Channels Notified and 800 Websites Blocked Posted On: 18 MAR 2026 3:19PM by PIB Delhi Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 has strengthened the legal framework to deter film piracy. Section 6AA and 6AB of Cinematograph Act prohibit unauthorized recording and transmission of films. Section 7 (1A) provides that if any person contravenes the provisions of Section 6AA or Section 6AB, they shall be punishable with a minimum 3 months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 3 lakh, which can be extended up to 3 years imprisonment and fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost. Further, Section 7(1B)(ii) enables the Government to notify the intermediaries hosting pirated content under section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Ministry of I&B has established an institutional mechanism through designated Nodal Officers to receive complaints, in the prescribed format issued vide Public Notice dated 03.11.2023. Such complaints may be submitted by original copyright holders of cinematograph films, persons authorized by them, or any other individual regarding the exhibition of pirated or infringing copies of films on the internet. Upon receipt, notifications are issued to intermediaries for disabling access to the identified links. Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 provides for notification by appropriate Governments of unlawful act or content to the intermediaries for removing/disabling access to such content. Intermediaries are required to remove any content violative of any law for the time being in force as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by appropriate government or its authorized agency. The Government of India has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021) under IT Act, 2000. Part-II of the IT Rules, 2021 relating to intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, inter-alia casts specific obligations on intermediaries relating to information hosted, displayed, uploaded, published, transmitted, stored or shared on their platforms. Rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules provides that the intermediaries should make reasonable efforts by itself. They should not allow its computer resource to be used to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights. Anti-piracy action In accordance with the above-mentioned provisions of law, the intermediary Telegram App was notified under Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 on 11.03.2026 to remove and disable access to the 3,142 Channels publishing content owned by or licensed to certain content owners, OTT platforms and producers without authorization in violation of the Copyright Act, 1957. Further, access to approximately 800 websites hosting pirated content has been disabled through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The information was submitted today in the Lok Sabha in a written reply to Shri Pradyut Bordoloi by Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs. ***** Mahesh Kumar/Aparajita Priyadarshini (Release ID: 2241712) Visitor Counter : 879 Read this release in: Malayalam , Urdu , हिन्दी , Assamese , Bengali-TR , Bengali , Punjabi , Gujarati , Telugu , Kannada Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 Strengthens Anti-Piracy Framework; Offenders Face Up to 3 Years Imprisonment and Fine up to 5% of Production Cost Centre Cracks Down on Piracy with 3,142 Telegram Channels Notified and 800 Websites Blocked Posted On: 18 MAR 2026 3:19PM by PIB Delhi Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 has strengthened the legal framework to deter film piracy. Section 6AA and 6AB of Cinematograph Act prohibit unauthorized recording and transmission of films. Section 7 (1A) provides that if any person contravenes the provisions of Section 6AA or Section 6AB, they shall be punishable with a minimum 3 months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 3 lakh, which can be extended up to 3 years imprisonment and fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost. Further, Section 7(1B)(ii) enables the Government to notify the intermediaries hosting pirated content under section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Ministry of I&B has established an institutional mechanism through designated Nodal Officers to receive complaints, in the prescribed format issued vide Public Notice dated 03.11.2023. Such complaints may be submitted by original copyright holders of cinematograph films, persons authorized by them, or any other individual regarding the exhibition of pirated or infringing copies of films on the internet. Upon receipt, notifications are issued to intermediaries for disabling access to the identified links. Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 provides for notification by appropriate Governments of unlawful act or content to the intermediaries for removing/disabling access to such content. Intermediaries are required to remove any content violative of any law for the time being in force as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by appropriate government or its authorized agency. The Government of India has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021) under IT Act, 2000. Part-II of the IT Rules, 2021 relating to intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, inter-alia casts specific obligations on intermediaries relating to information hosted, displayed, uploaded, published, transmitted, stored or shared on their platforms. Rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules provides that the intermediaries should make reasonable efforts by itself. They should not allow its computer resource to be used to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights. Anti-piracy action In accordance with the above-mentioned provisions of law, the intermediary Telegram App was notified under Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 on 11.03.2026 to remove and disable access to the 3,142 Channels publishing content owned by or licensed to certain content owners, OTT platforms and producers without authorization in violation of the Copyright Act, 1957. Further, access to approximately 800 websites hosting pirated content has been disabled through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The information was submitted today in the Lok Sabha in a written reply to Shri Pradyut Bordoloi by Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs. ***** Mahesh Kumar/Aparajita Priyadarshini (Release ID: 2241712) Centre Cracks Down on Piracy with 3,142 Telegram Channels Notified and 800 Websites Blocked " /> Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 has strengthened the legal framework to deter film piracy. Section 6AA and 6AB of Cinematograph Act prohibit unauthorized recording and transmission of films. Section 7 (1A) provides that if any person contravenes the provisions of Section 6AA or Section 6AB, they shall be punishable with a minimum 3 months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 3 lakh, which can be extended up to 3 years imprisonment and fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost. Further, Section 7(1B)(ii) enables the Government to notify the intermediaries hosting pirated content under section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Ministry of I&B has established an institutional mechanism through designated Nodal Officers to receive complaints, in the prescribed format issued vide Public Notice dated 03.11.2023. Such complaints may be submitted by original copyright holders of cinematograph films, persons authorized by them, or any other individual regarding the exhibition of pirated or infringing copies of films on the internet. Upon receipt, notifications are issued to intermediaries for disabling access to the identified links. Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 provides for notification by appropriate Governments of unlawful act or content to the intermediaries for removing/disabling access to such content. Intermediaries are required to remove any content violative of any law for the time being in force as and when brought to their knowledge either through a court order or through a notice by appropriate government or its authorized agency. The Government of India has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021) under IT Act, 2000. Part-II of the IT Rules, 2021 relating to intermediaries, including social media intermediaries, inter-alia casts specific obligations on intermediaries relating to information hosted, displayed, uploaded, published, transmitted, stored or shared on their platforms. Rule 3(1)(b) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules provides that the intermediaries should make reasonable efforts by itself. They should not allow its computer resource to be used to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that infringes any patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights. Anti-piracy action In accordance with the above-mentioned provisions of law, the intermediary Telegram App was notified under Section 79(3)(b) of IT Act, 2000 on 11.03.2026 to remove and disable access to the 3,142 Channels publishing content owned by or licensed to certain content owners, OTT platforms and producers without authorization in violation of the Copyright Act, 1957. Further, access to approximately 800 websites hosting pirated content has been disabled through Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The information was submitted today in the Lok Sabha in a written reply to Shri Pradyut  Bordoloi by Dr. L. Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs. ***** Mahesh Kumar/Aparajita Priyadarshini " /> var mPlayer = document.getElementById("background_music"); var mPlayAction = document.getElementById("playbutton"); var isPlaying = false; function playAudio() { mPlayer.play(); isPlaying = true; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "none"; } function pauseAudio() { mPlayer.pause(); isPlaying = false; document.getElementById('playA').style.display = "block"; document.getElementById('stopA').style.display = "none"; } //function HandleAudio() { // if (isPlaying == true) { // //Playing already Pause it // pauseAudio(); // } else { // //Play the music // playAudio(); // } //} var synth = window.speechSynthesis; function CleanHtml(html) { html = html.replace(/ /gi, ''); return html; } function stripHtml(html) { let tmp = document.createElement("DIV"); tmp.innerHTML = CleanHtml(html); return tmp.textContent || tmp.innerText || ""; } $(document).ready(function () { //for responsive tables $("table").each(function () { if (!$(this).closest(".table-responsive").length) { $(this).wrap(" "); } }); var width = $(window).width(); if (width $(document).ready(function () { var width = $(window).width(); if (width @media print { .sticky-social, .sticky-social_mb, .pull-right, #printPDF { display: none !important; } } .f_vl { padding-right: 30px; font-size: 17px; cursor: pointer; } .log_oo { // width: 20%; display: flex; justify-content: space-between; } .log_oo img { width: 150px; /*width: 100%; height: auto;*/ } .sticky-social_mb { position: fixed; bottom: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; width: 100%; } .social_mb { list-style: none; display: flex; width: 100%; margin-bottom: -8px; } .social_mb a { padding: 8px 0px; font-size: 30px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; width: 20% !important; text-align: center; } .section1 { position: relative; padding: 10px 0px; width: 100%; } .sticky-social { position: fixed; top: 20px; left: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; } .social { list-style: none; } .social a li { padding: 8px 12px; font-size: 25px; transition: all 0.8s ease-in-out; } .social a li:hover { margin-right: -30px; box-shadow: 2px 5px 10px grey; } .social a li:hover .fa { margin-left: 20px; } .fb_b { /* background-color: rgb(59, 89, 152);*/ background-color: rgba(65,103,178,255); } .twitter_r { /* background-color: rgb(29, 161, 242);*/ background-color: #000000; } .whatsapp_r { /* background-color: rgb(77, 194, 71);*/ background-color: rgba(13,191,67,255); } .fa-envelope_r { /* background-color: rgb(219, 68, 55);*/ background-color: #e2123d; } .fa-linkedin_r { background-color: rgb(0, 119, 181); } @media only screen and (max-device-width: 767px) { p span img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } p img { max-width: 90% !important; height: auto !important; } h2 { font-size: 20px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } h3 { font-size: 18px !important; font-weight: 600 !important; } } /* === Film Roll Badge Styling(IFFI2025 countdown) === */ .film-roll-badge { position: absolute; top:82%; right: 20px; width: 230px; height: 70px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 18px, #6e2b8b 18px, #6e2b8b 36px ); border-top: 8px solid #9a2375; border-bottom: 8px solid #9a2375; border-radius: 8px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); animation: moveFilm 8s linear infinite; z-index: 10; } /* film sprocket holes */ .film-roll-badge::before, .film-roll-badge::after { content: ""; position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 10px; background: repeating-linear-gradient( to right, #9a2375 0px, #9a2375 10px, #fff 10px, #fff 20px ); left: 0; z-index: 2; } .film-roll-badge::before { top: -4px; } .film-roll-badge::after { bottom: -4px; } .film-roll-inner { position: relative; height: 100%; display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; animation: flicker 2s infinite ease-in-out; } .countdown-text { font-size: 1.3rem; font-weight: 700; color: #fff; text-shadow: 0 0 6px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4), 0 0 10px #000; white-space: nowrap; } /* === Animations === */ @keyframes moveFilm { 0% { background-position: 0 0; } 100% { background-position: 120px 0; } } @keyframes flicker { 0%, 100% { opacity: 1; } 50% { opacity: 0.9; } 25% { opacity: 0.95; } 75% { opacity: 0.85; } } /* === Responsive Adjustments === */ @media (max-width: 1500px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 68%; right: 18px; /* width: 220px; */ height: 65px; font-size: 0.85rem; } .press-section { margin-top: 35px; } } @media (max-width: 992px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 52%; right: 10px; width: 200px; height: 60px; } } @media (max-width: 768px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 56%; right: 10px; width: 124px; height: 55px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.9rem; } } @media (max-width: 576px) { .film-roll-badge { top: 59%; right: 5px; /* width: 160px; */ height: 50px; } .countdown-text { font-size: 0.85rem; } } const festivalStart = new Date("2025-11-20T00:00:00").getTime(); const festivalEnd = new Date("2025-11-28T23:59:59").getTime(); const countdownElement = document.getElementById("countdown"); const interval = setInterval(() => { const now = new Date().getTime(); // BEFORE FESTIVAL — show days + hours left if (now = festivalStart && now el.style.width = "350px"); clearInterval(interval); } }, 1000); //

Original PIB release
pib.gov.in · PRID 2241712

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Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023 Strengthens Anti-Piracy Framework; Offenders Face Up to 3 Years Imprisonment and Fine up to 5% of Production Cost

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