Telegram is Riddled With Tens of Thousands of Piracy Channels; Apple and Google Have Ignored Requests From Creators To Take Action (theoutline.com) 49
joshtops writes: Instant messaging platform Telegram, which is used by more than 200 million users, has had an open secret since its inception: The platform has served as a haven for online pirates. The Outline reports that the platform is riddled with thousands of groups and channels, many with more than 100,000 members, whose sole purpose of existence is to share illegally copied movies, music albums, apps, and other content. The files are stored directly to Telegram's servers, allowing users to download movies, songs, and other content with one click. Channel admins told The Outline that they have not come across any resistance from Telegram despite the company, along with Apple and Google, maintaining a 'zero tolerance' stance on copyright infringement. This permissiveness on Telegram's part has led to the proliferation of a cottage industry of piracy marketplaces on the service.
[...] The Outline also discovered several groups and channels on Telegram in which stolen credentials -- i.e., the username and password for a website -- from Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, HBO, CBS, EA Sports, Lynda, Sling, WWE Network, Mega, India's Hotstar, and dozens of other services were being offered to tens of thousands of members each day. The Outline sourced nearly three-dozen free credentials from six Telegram channels, all of which worked as advertised. The report says that content creators have reached out to Apple, requesting the iPhone-maker to intervene, but the company has largely ignored the issue.
In an unrelated development, a Moscow court cleared the way on Friday for the local government to ban Telegram, the messaging app, over its failure to give Russian security services the ability to read users' encrypted messages.
[...] The Outline also discovered several groups and channels on Telegram in which stolen credentials -- i.e., the username and password for a website -- from Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, HBO, CBS, EA Sports, Lynda, Sling, WWE Network, Mega, India's Hotstar, and dozens of other services were being offered to tens of thousands of members each day. The Outline sourced nearly three-dozen free credentials from six Telegram channels, all of which worked as advertised. The report says that content creators have reached out to Apple, requesting the iPhone-maker to intervene, but the company has largely ignored the issue.
In an unrelated development, a Moscow court cleared the way on Friday for the local government to ban Telegram, the messaging app, over its failure to give Russian security services the ability to read users' encrypted messages.
OMG, piracy on the internet? (Score:1)
I find that extremely hard to believe.
All these decades, other than a very short period before the piratebay was blocked, there has been absolutely 0 piracy.
IRC, usenet, and various other online services were never used by people in such nefarious ways.
Re: (Score:2)
xdcc send
Apple & Google are responsible how, exactly? (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple and Google have no investment in Telegram, why should they be expected to solve this problem? You can use Safari and Chrome to download pirated stuff on your phone too, but I don't see anybody calling for Apple and Google to remove Safari and Chrome from telephones.
If creators have a beef with Telegram, take it up with Telegram Messenger LLP.
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Simple, this is a easy way to tell people that they should use telegram to find pirate content... and so secure that not even russia can break it!! :D
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That's my takeaway. I'll be seeing how easy this is when I get home and hoping that sickbeard/sickrage can automate it
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Apple and Google, through their walled-garden app stores, have set themselves up as curators of content, and they regularly enforce things like this. They've brought that expectation upon themselves.
Telegram is apparently hosting this infri
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You (and google lawyers) say that, yet every feature of your phone is tied to a google service app, which can only be installed in a signed fashion by the OEM that build and sold that device.
GPS and all other radio (except bluetooth) are severely crippled without it. And location provider accelerators (like the one from mozilla) cannot even be installed (only with root, which is moot since that is too difficult or impossible on every single device --even developer edition ones)
video acceleration and camera
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Except Telegram isn't doing anything to break the TOS of either Apple or Google ... Telegram facilitates messages between people, but not all of Telegram is illegal content, and neither Apple nor Google have any way of knowing this is true, or which stuff is pirated.
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This is entirely between the content owners and Telegram.
Should you be arrested because you might commit a crime? That's what you're describing.
You're missing the bigger picture, here.
This is not about "pirated" content at all. That's simply being used as justification.
This is about suppressing an encrypted communications channel that certain state actors including the US are fundamentally opposed to their populations having access to.
You don't allow your slaves the ability to communicate securely to enable them to organize to throw off their chains.
Strat
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So what can be done here? Decrypt and scan all files? Not feasible because it takes too long and costs too much. Ban encryption? Theore
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Accept the fact that copyright infringement will always exist; and it's extremely stupid and naive for content producers to believe they can stamp it out without the effects being felt in disproportionate fashion by every-day people who are not pirating?
Further, apps and services like this simply cannot exist without a bit of a safe-harbor. It's unreasonably stupid to expect them to self police every message, every file, looking for potential infringing content.
tl;dr: suck it up butter cup. Go after the p
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Further, apps and services like this simply cannot exist without a bit of a safe-harbor.
That's the real goal here, potential copyright infringement is justification, a 'cover-story'.
Neither the US, Russia, UK, nor many other Western & Eastern/Middle-Eastern governments want their populations to have access to secure communication tools to enable the masses to conveniently communicate securely enough that it makes it difficult, labor-intensive, and time-consuming to do domestic intelligence operations within and data-collection and monitoring upon.
You don't allow the livestock/slaves the to
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The security services will study the crypto and get an overview of the networks, users for their gov/mil.
That builds the needed gov skill sets to understand any new network, crypto/communications.
Ex and former gov/mil/law enforcement staff will offer their skills a contractors.
The study of such networks will then be offered to anyone who can afford to pay for such networks to be looked into.
Study the network to find the uploader and all the down
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"Apple and Google have no investment in Telegram, why should they be expected to solve this problem?"
They could also call the CEO of the Internets and ask him to kill that new email thingie, where users send each other all sorts of ungodly files and links.
Good little shill (Score:2)
Re:Good little shill (Score:5, Insightful)
Where do they claim they're on the side of the people? Their whole statement is essentially longhand for "we do propaganda".
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You've obviously fallen for their propaganda then.
Oh my! (Score:5, Funny)
I don't believe it! News for nerds! Stuff that matters!
Something we didn't already read in our grandpa's paper newspaper*.
(* kids, that's like a large papery blog)
Thanks for the tips guys, downloading now...
If you can't beat them, beat them some more. (Score:1)
Telegram is Riddled With Tens of Thousands of Piracy Channels; Apple and Google Have Ignored Requests From Creators To Take Action
Fortunately in solidarity with the pirates Slashdot will have a link-a-thon, promoting whack-a-mole, and middle-finger as forms of expression.
An entry from the FAQ (Score:5, Informative)
Q: There's illegal content on Telegram. How do I take it down?
All Telegram chats and group chats are private amongst their participants. We do not process any requests related to them.
In other news... (Score:2)
Voice messaging platforms AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, which are used by more than 300 Million users, has had an open secret since its inception: The platform has served as a haven for online criminals. The Outline reports that the platform is riddled with thousands of groups and channels, whose sole purpose of existence is to commit illegal acts.
Clearly we must get rid of this menace!
Is communication bad? (Score:4, Insightful)
OMG! People are sharing files / video / music! (Score:4, Insightful)
/sarcasm I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you that people are sharing files / video / music on the internet! Back in MY day we hoarded our one's and zero's! Only communists shared their data with a stranger. We practiced safe hex by being our corporate master's bitch!
Instead of asking the question: "When this many people are just outright ignoring copyright maybe this civil disobediance of Against Intellectual Property [amazonaws.com] (written by a lawyer, go figure) is a call to re-think the archaic, capitalist concept of Copyright? Nah, let's go after Apple and Google instead which have NOTHING to do with this. "
Wait till these people find out that you can share "illegal numbers" through Skype, Google Drive, or even email !
Doesn't get much weaker (Score:3)
This submission is bizarre.
Even for trolling standards, the "news" is unbelievably silly.
Any communication online (and offline for that matter) will be used to exchange illegal stuff.
You can replace "Telegram" with "Email", "Google Drive", "Usenet" - or even "FedEx" and "Telephone".
Any of those things are used for much worse than pirating content: *terrorists and rapists* use them for nefarious goals. So what?
I don't hear "Telephone" getting the blame. Nor I hear Gmail being asked to pay more attention to the content of those emails. You don't expect the provider of such services to police private communications.
What's the point of singling out Telegram, of all things?
(In case this is Ivan following on today's directive "Find something to attack Telegram", then it's a very lazy attempt. Can do better, Ivan.)
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Interesting people start to hide their very interesting communications in the huge flow of files. Good crypto and cover of larger herd of users around the world.
Security services have many interesting people to study on fewer networks globally using one type of crypto.
The more everyone interesting starts using one crypto design the more easy it is for the security servi
Web browsers too (Score:2)
Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and IE are guilty as well. Scrap them!