AFP – Messaging app Telegram removed some illegal material following a request by South Korean regulators, the Yonhap news agency reported yesterday.
A South Korean broadcaster revealed last month that university students were running an illegal Telegram chatroom, where they shared deepfake material. Other chatrooms were subsequently discovered, sparking public outrage. Police said on Monday they had initiated an investigation into the Dubai-based messaging company, accusing it of “abetting” the distribution of deepfake material, including artificial intelligence (AI)-generated images.
Regulators had requested Telegram remove some of the offensive material, and the app has informed the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) that it had taken down 25 pieces of content, Yonhap reported yesterday.
“Telegram also apologised for miscommunication regarding the issue and shared an exclusive email address for future communication with the media watchdog,” Yonhap reported, citing the KCSC.
Perpetrators of the recent spate of deepfake crimes have reportedly used social media platforms such as Instagram to save or screen-capture photos of victims.
This has fuelled public anger and prompted President Yoon Suk Yeol, a former prosecutor, to call on officials to “thoroughly investigate and address these digital crimes to eradicate them completely”.