According to TorrentFreak, which focuses on the Torrent torrent protocol, OpenTrackr, a torrent tracker that maintains content neutrality, had to block thousands of hashes on the server due to receiving a DMCA notice. The blocked hashes will not be transmitted to users through OpenTrackr.

OpenTrackr was launched in 2015 and is currently one of the most popular and commonly used BitTorrent trackers. Today, the tracker coordinates the transmission of more than 5 million torrents and handles up to 500,000 connections per second.

Of course, even if so many seed transmissions need to be coordinated, OpenTrackr's "server" is very simple, with only one machine equipped with AMD Ryzen 9 Pro 3900 CPU + 16GB.

It should be noted that Torrent trackers are run by volunteers and amateurs. There is no compensation. Of course, the server does not store any data. The tracker is only responsible for helping coordinate transmissions between users.

It is for this reason that copyright agencies have focused on tracker providers and asked them to block torrent files with specific copyright content. Since each torrent file has a specific hash value, providers can only block these hash values ​​in accordance with the DMCA notice. This means that if the tracker blocks a specific hash, users using the tracker will not be able to receive data.

OpenTrackr operator lsa is proud of her own achievements, but lsa also faces DMCA issues, so lsa discloses OpenTrackr-blocked hashes every year.

lsa said it has received relatively few DMCA notices, with no DMCA notices received in 2021 and 2022, but an increase in 2023, with anti-piracy agency MarkScan reporting 2,990 problematic hashes to OpenTrackr on behalf of various rights holders.

Although the hashes or torrent files themselves are not infringing, rights holders may argue that OpenTrackr has the ability to prevent related torrent transmissions, thereby reducing piracy.

LSA did not explain what legal consequences it would have if it did not handle the report after receiving it, but for tracker operators, it is most important to avoid any type of problems, so LSA will also block these hashes according to the report. After all, if it is really sued by the copyright agency, LSA as an individual will obviously not be able to fight against the legal team of the copyright agency.