The messaging service Telegram has removed some pornographic content following a request from South Korea’s media regulator, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Tuesday, September 3.
At the end of August, South Korean media Hankyoreh had claimed that university students were running a Telegram discussion group circulating pornographic deepfakes of their female classmates, sparking an outrage.
South Korean police announced on Monday that they had opened an investigation into Telegram, which they accuse of” encourage “ the dissemination of such fake pornographic content using, in particular, images of minors. Pornographic deepfakes are montages generated by artificial intelligence, in which the faces of people appear attached to sexual photographs or videos.
“Telegram also apologized”
Following a request from the regulatory authority, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the Telegram app announced that it had removed 25 contents – among several thousand – that presented a hint of sexual exploitation, Yonhap reported on Tuesday.
“Telegram also apologized for the miscommunication on the issue and provided a dedicated email address for future communications with the media regulator.”Yonhap added, citing the KCSC.
Online crimes are widespread in South Korea, including the exploitation of spy cameras and the posting of private pornographic content shared without consent as revenge, activists say. Following the announcement of a police investigation in South Korea, messaging service Telegram told Agence France-Presse on Monday that “actively monitored harmful content on its platform, including illegal pornography”.
The investigation opened by Seoul police follows the arrest on August 28 in France of Telegram boss Pavel Durov. After four days in police custody, the billionaire was released but is subject to heavy judicial supervision, including a ban on leaving French territory. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, he is accused in particular of “refusal to provide information necessary for interceptions authorized by law” and complicity in crimes and organized crimes through the platform.
