The European Commission has just updated its digital piracy list, including the popular instant messaging app Telegram.
According to the European Commission (EC), one of the organisations of the European Union (EU) that exercises functions in the legislative and executive sphere, the messaging application Telegram has not done much to combat hacking, counterfeiting and spam within its app, which is why it is included in the new list Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List of the EC. This list includes all those applications, websites, platforms and digital services that do not comply with the basic regulations to combat these practices in the digital world, and in their opinion, Telegram is one of them.
The EC notes that Telegram fell short in its efforts to combat bad practices of illicit and for-profit reproduction, appropriation and distribution of digital content. In the past, the developers of this application have blocked a large number of channels where pirated copies of books, newspapers, magazines and more were shared with hundreds of thousands of users around the world, but it seems that these efforts were not enough for the European Commission.
The organization's report notes that Telegram's inclusion on this list is done at the request of the publishing, music and broadcasting industries, which accuse the application of allowing the creation of public channels, where thousands of users come together, to share unauthorized content in violation of all copyrights of content creators. On Telegram, the statement says, music, books, news, publications, movies and television shows are shared without any kind of license or control.
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A practice that puts the employment of thousands of people at risk
Piracy practices, and the number of users seeking this type of content, have become much more pronounced during the pandemic and the lockdown measures worldwide. Although at first glance computer piracy may not seem so serious, the European Commission points out that this practice, together with piracy and counterfeiting in other industries, has destroyed nearly 680.000 jobs throughout the European Union in 2020.
In its statement, the EC explains that counterfeit physical and digital products generated a loss of revenue of up to €50.000 billion, which is equivalent to 6,4% of EU sales in several sectors, including fashion, watches, footwear, electronics, digital games, music, and more, and a total loss of 671.435 jobs in the region.
As for Telegram, the European Commission also notes that in channels where unlicensed products are shared, subscribers also share links to other websites that host and offer copyrighted content and even marketplaces that sell counterfeit pharmaceutical products that can put the lives of their consumers at risk.
Poor response capacity, according to whistleblowers
The EC also notes that the whistleblowers reveal that Telegram does not have an optimal response capacity to combat these practices within its platform, which currently hosts more than 400 million active users per month.
“Telegram is included in this Watch List because stakeholders report that there is no robust response when they report violations.”
However, the platform defends itself by pointing out that it has implemented measures to close channels where unauthorized products are shared, and also points out that its ability to fight terrorism and child abuse has been quite effective. The creators of the application also indicate that they do not tolerate any malicious content on their platform, and that once it is reported by the Authority for the Guarantee of Communications (AGCOM) or by users via email, the content is deleted within 24 hours. Telegram cited as an example its actions against 26 channels in Italy, where pirated content was shared, which were immediately closed at the request of AGCOM.
A warning for awareness
The inclusion of Telegram on this list will not have any legal repercussions, but is done with the purpose of warning its creators that they must reinforce their measures to mitigate and stop counterfeiting and hacking practices within their platform. The list also expresses the dissatisfaction of many industry representatives with this application and seeks to raise awareness among citizens so that they also take initiatives to counteract the effects of these practices, avoiding participating in groups and channels that expose unlicensed and uncopyrighted content.
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