Shortly after Durow's arrest
South Korea is investigating Telegram
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The South Korean authorities are calling on online networks to take action against the distribution of pornographic content. Telegram is uncooperative. Seoul is now investigating charges of complicity in sexual crimes, according to a report.
A good week after the arrest of company boss Pawel Durow in France, Telegram is facing new trouble, according to a media report. The South Korean authorities have initiated an investigation into possible aiding and abetting of sexual crimes on the Internet by the text message service, wrote the South Korean news agency Yonhap. She referred to the head of the national investigative agency.
Their Internet department did not want to comment on the matter. Telegram cannot be reached for comment. The investigation is about the spread of so-called deepfakes. Using artificial intelligence, pornographic images of prominent women are created and distributed over the Internet. This topic has been the subject of discussion for a long time. According to cybersecurity firm Security Hero, more than half of the victims of sexual deepfakes worldwide in 2023 were South Korean singers and actresses.
According to the South Korean police, 297 cases of such sexual crimes have been recorded so far in 2024. This is a double compared to the whole of 2021, when such data was first collected. The authorities have also received more than 6,300 requests to delete deepfakes. The majority of both victims and perpetrators are teenagers. The government in Seoul wants to tighten the laws and in the future also criminalize the purchase and viewing of sexual deepfakes.
Telegram uncooperative in prosecuting crimes
Authorities have called on online networks to block the distribution of such content and delete these images. To this end, a new committee is to be set up to facilitate communication with social media operators. In addition, the media regulator asked its French colleagues for regular cooperation in the Telegram case.
The WhatsApp rival is considered the main distribution medium for such content and is uncooperative in the prosecution of crimes. France has launched a formal investigation against founder Durow because Telegram refuses to forward data from suspicious users to prosecutors. The Russian-born man had to pay a deposit worth millions and is not allowed to leave France.
