South Korea investigating Telegram

The platform has been accused of abetting the distribution deepfake pornography, a week after its CEO was detained in France

South Korean police are investigating messaging platform Telegram in connection with online sex crimes. The country is trying to tackle deepfake pornography targeting young women, according to a senior police official quoted by Yonhap News Agency.

Last week, local police received 88 reports of deepfake porn, the head of the National Office of Investigation, Woo Jong-soo, told the media, adding that 24 suspects had been identified in relation to the complaints.

The inquiry comes a week after the arrest of its CEO and founder Pavel Durov in France.

“As France has done, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched an internal investigation into the corporate entity of Telegram before officially booking it,” Woo said, adding that the probe would closely examine whether it had been abetting the distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content.

He said the administration of the messaging platform “does not readily provide investigation data, such as account information” to state authorities, “including those in the US.”

South Korean police are planning to collaborate with the French investigative authorities and international institutions as part of its probe into Telegram.

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Eight automated programs creating deepfake pornography spread via Telegram are under scrutiny as part of the investigation, as well as group chat rooms responsible for disseminating such content.

Durov was arrested last Saturday shortly after arriving at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, and has since been charged with multiple offenses, including complicity in “administering an online platform” used by criminal gangs to conduct illicit activities, and refusing to cooperate with investigators.

The tech entrepreneur, who is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, was released on a €5 million ($5.55 million) bail on Wednesday and ordered to remain in France until the case against him concludes.

Telegram has insisted that the company complies with EU laws and that its content moderation policies are “within industry standards,” adding that blaming a platform or its owner for abuse of that platform was “absurd.”