South Korea Investigates Telegram for Deepfake Pornography
South Korea's police opened an investigation into Telegram on 2 September 2024, accusing the messaging app of encouraging the distribution of deepfake pornography involving minors. The investigation followed 88 complaints in the previous week and public outrage over cases including university students creating such content depicting classmates.
What happened
South Korea's National Police announced on 2 September 2024 that it opened an investigation into Telegram for allegedly encouraging the distribution of deepfake pornography using photographs of minors.
The police received 88 complaints the previous week about such videos on Telegram and identified 24 suspects. According to police, most victims are girls, 60% of whom are minors. Telegram had not responded to previous requests for user account information during prior investigations of crimes connected to the platform.
Reported impact
The investigation was prompted by public and political anger in South Korea over deepfake pornography involving South Korean women. Local media reported that such content is frequently found in Telegram chatrooms.
University students were reported to have operated a chatroom on Telegram in which they posted deepfake pornography depicting their classmates, an incident that sparked public outrage.
Governance controls
The head of the National Police investigation bureau stated that Telegram did not provide account information during prior investigations connected to crimes on the platform.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.