Telegram ‘Suspends RuTracker’s Channel’ For Copyright Infringement

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.