South Korea launches investigation into Telegram over deepfake porn

SEOUL: South Korean police said on Monday (Sept 2) they had launched an investigation into encrypted messaging platform Telegram for allegedly “inciting” the distribution of so-called deepfake pornography, including graphic images of teenagers generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Deepfake pornography involves pornographic content in which a person’s face is digitally superimposed onto other pornographic images or videos using artificial intelligence technology.

A South Korean broadcaster reported last month that university students were running an illegal chat room on Telegram, sharing fake pornographic footage of female classmates, just one of several high-profile cases that have sparked public outrage.

“In light of these crimes (deepfakes), the Seoul National Police Agency launched an investigation last week… into inciting crimes,” said Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Police Agency’s investigative bureau, according to a transcript of the press conference.

“Telegram has not responded to our previous requests for account information during investigations into past crimes linked to Telegram,” he said.

Police received 88 reports of deepfake pornography last week alone, Woo said, adding that 24 suspects had been identified.