Korea probes Telegram over alleged negligence of deepfake sex crimes

The investigation comes as the company's CEO was arrested and charged in France last week for crimes including spread of sexual images of children

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Bloomberg News

Seyoon Kim and Jaehyun Eom

Published Sep 03, 2024  •  2 minute read

The investigation into Telegram comes less than a week after the South Korean government asked social media companies to delete deepfake images from their platforms after an increase in such content. Photo by Leon Neal /Getty Images

The South Korean police began investigating messaging app Telegram for the first time for its alleged negligence over deepfake-related sex crimes, Yonhap News reported, citing a briefing from the head of National Office of Investigation.

The probe was launched by the Seoul Metropolitan Police and like in other countries, Telegram has been uncooperative in sharing materials with the authorities, investigation office head Woo Jong-soo said, according to Yonhap on Monday. South Korea is doing its best to deploy its own investigating tools to extract the materials, Yonhap said, citing Woo.

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The investigation comes less than a week after the South Korean government asked Telegram and other social media companies to delete deepfake images from their platforms after an increase in such content. President Yoon Suk Yeol last week described deepfake as a “clear crime” and ordered officials to take stern actions to counter it.

“Telegram actively monitors harmful content on its platform including illegal pornography,” the company said in an email response to a Bloomberg query. “Moderators proactively monitor public parts of the platform, use AI tools and accept user reports in order to remove content that breaches Telegram’s terms of service.”

South Korea’s investigation comes as Pavel Durov, the chief executive officer of Telegram, was arrested and charged in France last week for crimes including spread of sexual images of children.

A total of 88 deepfake-related cases have been reported to the South Korean police between August 26 to 29 versus 297 cases in the seven months through July, Woo said, according to Yonhap. He said South Korea will look at ways to work with the French authorities or other international organizations as it probes Telegram.

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South Korea’s police agency on August 27 announced a crackdown on deepfake images and videos, particularly those using AI tools for making explicit materials, according to a police press release.

Phone calls made to the South Korean police went unanswered when reached by Bloomberg.

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