Telegram apologizes amid South Korea’s deepfake pornography crisis

Telegram has apologized to South Korean authorities for its role in spreading deepfake pornographic material on its messaging platform, amid what has been described as a digital sex crime epidemic in the country. The apology follows an investigation launched by South Korean police, who accused Telegram of “aiding and abetting” the spread of the explicit images.

In recent weeks, it was discovered that a significant number of Telegram chat rooms, many of which are run by teenagers, were creating and sharing sexually explicit deepfakes: images manipulated using artificial intelligence to combine real people’s faces with fake bodies. The victims in these cases were often young women, including students and teachers known to the perpetrators.

Telegram described the situation in a statement to South Korea’s Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) as “unfortunate” and expressed regret for any “misunderstanding.” The company confirmed that it had removed 25 videos flagged by the KCSC and suggested setting up a dedicated email address to facilitate ongoing communication with the regulator. The KCSC praised Telegram’s approach as “very progressive” and noted that the platform had “recognized the seriousness” of the situation.

The deepfake crisis has sparked outrage in South Korea, especially after it emerged that police were investigating deepfake porn networks at two major universities. Authorities received 118 reports of such videos in just five days, and seven suspects, six of whom are teenagers, have been questioned by police. The chat groups were linked to schools and universities across the country, with many of the victims known to the perpetrators.

Under South Korean law, creating sexually explicit deepfakes can result in a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to 50 million won (about $37,500).

The problem of digital sex crimes on Telegram is not new in South Korea. In 2019, the app was infamously used by a sex gang to blackmail women and children into producing pornographic content. The ringleader, Cho Ju-bin, was sentenced to 42 years in prison.

These recent events also follow the arrest of Russian-born Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France on charges of child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud on the platform. Durov has since been charged.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has ordered authorities to “thoroughly investigate and crack down on these digital sexual crimes to eradicate them.” Women’s rights activists in South Korea have criticized authorities for what they see as a failure to prevent and adequately address sexual abuse facilitated by platforms like Telegram.

Melissa Henoch

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