The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov by French authorities in August 2024 was unexpected, the basis perhaps even more so.

The mere suggestion that social media operators in the United States could face arrest overseas, for the alleged misconduct of a minority of users among more than a billion, would not be well received.

According to reports, France accused a subset of Telegram users of committing a range of very serious crimes. Extending the blame to Durov personally, inaction in the face of complaints rendered him complicit, the authorities said.

Telegram’s New Leaf?

The detail of Durov’s unplanned extended French break, and how that was received behind the usually impenetrable walls of Telegram, remains mostly unclear. However, the bottom line seems to be a more flexible, perhaps even reformed Telegram, with a much-improved attitude towards content complaints, copyright notifications included.

Last September Telegram reportedly removed allegedly-infringing messages from Z-Library’s channel for copyright infringement. Telegram struck again earlier this month, deleting channels operated by Z-Library and fellow shadow library, Anna’s Archive.

RuTracker? Surely Not..

This week Russian media outlets reported that a similar fate had befallen RuTracker, a veteran torrent index/tracker still going strong after celebrating its 20th birthday last September.

First reported by CNews, the publication said that Telegram had “destroyed” RuTracker’s channel. That sits in stark contrast to the image below, which shows an early promotion of the channel on Twitter in 2017.

The body of the article clarifies that the channel was blocked and no longer appears in Telegram’s search results. CNews further reports that subscribers to the channel, over 27,900 according to Telegram data, can no longer access the channel’s content either.

Instead, they’re reportedly greeted by a message, stating that “This channel is unavailable due to copyright infringement.” A report published at Habr.com reports along the same lines, this time with an accompanying screenshot.

RuTracker’s attitude to copyright complaints previously earned the site a place on Russia’s blocklist. Operated by telecoms regulator Roscomnadzor, the list now features RuTracker as a permanent fixture, an inevitable response to ongoing infringement and zero compliance.

Telegram Means Little to RuTracker

While there are plenty of reports in Russia media concerning the blocking of RuTracker, our tests from outside Russia failed early Tuesday but on Wednesday, passed with flying colors.

Given that site-blocking is widespread in Russia, almost anything is possible. Interestingly, the supposed reason for the block – copyright infringement, according to reports – seems highly unlikely to have been triggered by a valid complaint.

On January 19, issues with the main RuTracker site, which operates separately from Telegram, prompted RuTracker staff to post a message about the issues to the channel, followed by an update a few minutes later.

No further posts have appeared since then, but that deserves more context.

Site Doesn’t Use Telegram Very Often

The post above that begins by addressing “Friends” is preceded by another bearing good news. “The service has been restored! If you have problems accessing the forum, clear your browser cache and cookies,” it reads.

That post is dated January 27, 2023, suggesting that RuTracker made little to no use of the channel during the last two years. Two short posts further back still is another marking RuTracker’s 18th birthday. It’s dated September 18, 2022 .

That celebration was viewed 286,200 times; this week’s post was viewed 6,500 times.

As a famous Russian once said: If it dies, it dies.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

When news broke in August that Telegram founder Pavel Durov had been arrested after his private plane touched down in France, speculation on the reasons behind that were in plentiful supply.

After letting the rumor mill boil for a few days, French authorities said they had charged Durov with criminal offenses related to his role at Telegram and the platform’s “near-total absence” of cooperation with French authorities. After initially being quite bullish, Durov appeared to adopt a more conciliatory tone, noting that staff had deployed AI tools in an effort to remove problematic content.

Telegram Promises to Comply With Valid Legal Requests

Another supposed change was an update of Telegram’s terms of service and privacy policy, to make it clear that in response to valid legal requests, Telegram will in future hand over alleged infringers’ personal details, including IP addresses and telephone numbers.

“We won’t let bad actors jeopardize the integrity of our platform of almost a billion users,” Durov said.

While Telegram has a reputation for failing to live up to rightsholders’ standards, the platform has blocked many piracy-related channels in recent years. On the user data front, in 2022 a court in India ordered Telegram to hand over information to identify alleged infringers. The company appeared to drag its feet, but there were clear indications that the platform eventually complied.

As previously reported , Telegram recently took action against Z-Library’s channels on copyright grounds, although who or what prompted that is still unclear. In any event, it appears that Telegram’s approach to moderation is changing, including reports from France that rightsholders have witnessed a shift too.

Takedown Speed Increases Considerably

Following Durov’s assurances that Telegram would start cooperating more with the authorities, reports began to emerge that some pirates, who presumably (and naively) considered Telegram a safe haven, are now feeling a little spooked.

Indeed, in an interview with Le Figaro , the CEO of anti-piracy company LeakID confirmed that for some football-focused streamers, the pressure was beginning to show.

“We have learned from concordant sources that at least three major streamers are stopping,” Hervé Lemaire told the publication, adding that Telegram also appears to be more responsive to takedown requests.

“We noticed that Telegram closed illicit streams more quickly, in 10, 15, 20 minutes, whereas this was not the case before,” Lemaire added. “Previously, Telegram generally took 24 to 48 hours to close these pirate links.”

Similar changes were also observed at beIN Sports, a company that sees most of its content pirated on a continuous basis, with Telegram-based pirates typically playing a role in illicit distribution.

“We have indeed seen a significant drop in streams of pirated content on Telegram in recent days,” confirmed Sarah d’Arifat, legal director at beIN Sports. “However, it is still too early to draw any conclusions, even if we hope that this improvement will be confirmed over time.”

“Mafia Groups” on Telegram

The Association for the Protection of Sports Programs (APPS) counts several major rightsholders and broadcasters among its members, including Canal+, beIN Sports, the Professional Football League (LFP) and the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF).

In an August interview , APPS president Xavier Spender described IPTV providers and illegal streamers operating on Telegram as organized criminals, and Telegram as falling short on cooperation.

“What you have to keep in mind is that today the players on these platforms are real mafia groups. They make a significant profit from this activity of pirating content, whether it is sports content or other types,” Spender said. “Telegram is not very responsive when asked to cut off streams, that’s clear.”

So with the more recent changes, are rightsholders optimistic for the future?

Luke-Warm Reception From Other Rightsholders

“Telegram’s announcement of increased moderation and collaboration with the French justice system also appears to concern illegal sports broadcasts: blocking and announcements of the cessation of illegal broadcasts of sports content by streamers,” Spender confirmed to Le Figaro.

For the Professional Football League, which suffers high levels of piracy along with its football counterparts all over Europe, any positive change is welcomed. In Telegram’s case, however, much more will be needed to effectively tackle the unique problems associated with piracy of live sports, in particular the need for ultra-fast takedowns.

“Telegram’s initial efforts are interesting but not sufficient,” the LFP said. “The removal times observed on Telegram remain random and can still extend to several hours. These times are therefore unfortunately still not, overall, compatible with the effective protection of content broadcast live.”

Hervé Lemaire at Leak ID prefers to see how Telegram handles big events before drawing any firm conclusions. But of course, he’s seen it all before and understands the brutal reality of fighting piracy online, even if Telegram suddenly meets demanding industry standards.

“If it is no longer Telegram, the streamers will go to something else,” he said. “All platforms must play the game. Telegram is a step. But it is not the end of the war.”

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.