Telegram is one of the most recommended messaging applications and one of the most used together with WhatsApp. It stands out for great privacy and security for its users but we do not have total freedom in what we do or say publicly in groups or channels. If you want to know why a channel is blocked on Telegram, we summarize the most common causes, possible solutions, what has happened or why they have done it.
There are many reasons why they can block a Telegram channel if you break the rules of the messaging application , as we explain in the following paragraphs. You must follow some basic rules of behavior, as in any other similar application.
Can we enter a blocked channel?
It depends. If the authorities have closed it (it can be in case of committing serious infractions or being closed for piracy) we will not be able to return to that channel. If it is our own channel that has been blocked, we can contact Telegram to appeal that closure and check if there are reasons or not. We explain everything you should know about them, the difference with the groups (from which they can expel you) or the difference between messages on private or public channels.
Difference between channels and groups
The first thing we have to take into account is that there are differences between a Telegram channel and a group. Groups are designed so that all users interact and share content equally. The channels are not, the channels are designed for companies or for the dissemination of content from one person or several (two, three or four administrators) to an unlimited audience. There may be thousands of people on the same channel reading the content, but only the creator and administrators can write, but not the rest of the users who belong to it. This means that it is not usual for channels to be expelled since you cannot say anything. Public groups will be able to ban you if you break the rules, but public channels are information that you access without anything in return.
Public and private channels
There are two types of channels: public channels and private channels . In the case of private channels, the content posted by users will not be analyzed, unlike public channels. Private channels are for companies, for example, who want to contact their employees without creating chaos in a group, as in WhatsApp. These messages are completely confidential and encrypted and cannot be seen by anyone. You can only enter private channels through a link or an invitation from the creator himself. But on the other hand, there are also public channels that you can find through the application’s search engine or by entering through a link and where all kinds of content are disseminated for users and which anyone can enter. This makes the messages broadcast here public.
The creator of the channel can broadcast all kinds of messages, add members, delete them and share content. That is why many channels are designed to spread content and files and that is why they are usually used for piracy: users can share 1.5 GB files for others to download directly from the application without the need to download any other client or visit another website. The success of hacking on Telegram has caused hundreds of channels to be blocked in recent years.
How they can block you on Telegram
Telegram does not read the private conversations you have with your friends but it does have access to the content of public channels or public groups, for example, and in that case it will know what you are saying. The difference between being blocked on Telegram is that they can remove the channel you have created or expel you from a public group for your punctual behavior. In the first case, it is the application itself that removes the channel for illegal content, for hacks, for example, or for terrorist channels or any of the causes that we will see in the following paragraphs. In the second, it is a user who will ban another for breaking the rules of the channel, generally the creators or administrators who have the power to kick the others out.
Keep in mind that all chats and groups on Telegram are private among participants if these channels are private and the company does not read what you say or what you send or anything that happens between you. But it is not the same with sticker packs, bots, public groups or public channels on Telegram that are publicly available and that can be blocked for violating copyright, for spreading spam, for unwanted content …
Locked on Telegram: What to do
If you believe that there are no reasons for your channel to be blocked or that it has been prohibited for unclear reasons, you can contact exposing your case to the abuse @ telegram email where they will study whether or not there are reasons. In case you think that the channel has been blocked but you are clear that it was just (if you had a book or movie broadcast channel, for example, or a public channel with pornography …) there will be nothing to do to recover it . In addition, those in charge of channels closed by the authorities can face piracy crimes.
Why can they block us?
There are many reasons why you can end up with blocked channels created by you. Getting kicked out of a channel is not usual for the simple reason that you don’t have any “power” on it. That is, they can block you from a public Telegram group and this block does not depend on the application itself but on its rules. Normally you will see the rules of each group as an anchored message to which everyone has access and it will depend on one or the other that varies what you can and cannot do.
In other words, Telegram is not going to block a channel for you by flirting with another user, but it is possible that the creator or administrator of a group does decide to ban you or block people who flirt, compliment or publish loving messages between them. There will be topics that cannot be covered and this will be specific to the channel you are on and not Telegram. But beyond the rules of each one, there are general rules that any channel must comply with in the application if you are an administrator or creator. The same rules will apply to public groups created by us or by others.
- Pornography or distribution of any type of related content.
- Illegal downloads through specialized channels
- Terrorist channels and related bots, for example. Telegram has managed to block thousands of bots and ISIS channels in recent months thanks to users who report them when they discover them in the app.
- For violating intellectual property rights. For example, hacking books and sharing them through the application, sending movies, etc.
Report illegal content or report
If you see someone posing as you on Telegram, you can notify the app through Telegram’s Antiscam bot so that the app takes action and can kick that person out for breaking the rules.
If you see that there is a bot or channel that is violating copyright you can notify via email dmca@telegram.org to take action. It is recommended that you add screenshots or as much information as possible, but requests can be sent only by the owner of said copyrights or by someone authorized. That is, if you see that they are sharing your book (of which you are the author) on a public Telegram channel, you can contact this email address.
In the event that you see any type of illegal information, you can also contact the company through abuse@telegram.org . This communication is more global and does not imply that you are the person directly affected but that you have seen anything that is suspicious.
report
You can report a channel from the application itself:
- Open the channel you want to report
- Tap the three dots in the upper right corner
- Tap on the “Report” option
- Check between options and causes
- Spam
- Violence
- Child abuse
- Pornography
- Others
- Confirm and you will automatically send the report.
Thanks to these user complaints, thousands of terrorist channels are closed or are against the Telegram rules.
Channels blocked on Telegram: cases and problems
It is very common that there are blocked channels on Telegram practically every day, every week. In April 2020 the Federzione Italiana Editorio Giornali (FIEG) or the country’s publishers association, closed ten channels used to distribute content on Telegram illegally. Free newspapers, magazines, newspapers or books were uploaded on these channels daily, which were distributed through almost 600,000 different members. An activity that could be translated as a profit of about 670,000 euros per day for their owners. This ended the ban on eliminating most channels and managers face money laundering charges in addition to all kinds of piracy charges.
So serious is the matter in some countries or in some cases, that many call for the closure of Telegram in some areas since the company “does not help” or “collaborates” with the authorities to identify pirates who make the application their gold mine for hacking.
Also in 2020, CEDRO (Spanish Center for Reprographic Rights) announced that it closed more than 120 Telegram download channels with more than 380,000 users downloading books through them, in addition to newspapers and magazines from all companies and publishers.
But beyond the channels, Telegram takes advantage of bots for piracy: there are many bots that allow you to download songs, movies, books, series. There are many who “pursue” this type of content, but new bots or channels are emerging at the moment that jeopardize copyright.