An activist wearing an eye mask, holds a poster reading ‘Repeated deepfake sex crimes, the state is an accomplice too’ during a protest against deepfake porn in Seoul on Aug 30, 2024. South Korea's president called on Aug 30, for an investigation into deepfake porn after media reports that Telegram chatrooms were sharing explicit images of minors at schools and universities sparked public outrage. South Korean authorities have called on Telegram and other social media platforms for cooperation in fighting sexually explicit deepfake content. — AFP
SEOUL: South Korean police have launched an investigation into the messaging platform Telegram over deepfake online sex crimes, Yonhap news agency reported on Sept 2, citing a senior police official.
The probe will examine whether it had been abetting distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content, Yonhap said, quoting the head of the National Office of Investigation.
An official at the National Police Agency's cyber investigation bureau declined to confirm the report when reached by telephone.
South Korean authorities have called on Telegram and other social media platforms for cooperation in fighting sexually explicit deepfake content.
The steps follow reports by several domestic media outlets that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms.
Telegram could not immediately be reached for comment but the company last week said it actively moderates harmful content on its platform including illegal pornography.
"Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring of public parts of the platform, sophisticated AI tools and user reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day," it said in a statement. – Reuters
