Messaging app Telegram has had a pretty rough go of it lately. Its CEO was arrested by French authorities for allegedly being a little too lax on all the child porn that was allowed to be distributed on the app. And now the company has another porn-related controversy to deal with. Telegram is currently facing scrutiny and legal challenges in South Korea over its role in the proliferation of deepfake porn.
There is a deepfake porn crisis in South Korea, if you weren’t aware. People are using AI software to generate sexually explicit images and videos to exploit and harass women and girls at alarming rates. Telegram, with its laissez-faire stance on content moderation, has been used to distribute the images.
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Now, South Korean authorities announced plans to probe Telegram, accusing the company of facilitating the distribution of these images and videos and allowing groups to coordinate the systematic targeting of individuals.
The messaging company “apologized if there had been an element of misunderstanding” and removed 25 pieces of offending content flagged by South Korea’s Communications Standards Commission. Telegram reportedly stated that it wants to directly work with South Korean regulators to stem the tide of deepfake porn in the future. South Korean authorities are also looking into automated software that generates deepfake porn.
Telegram prides itself on privacy and anonymity. This, of course, makes it a breeding ground for illegal activity. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed to combat digital sex crime, promising stiffer regulation and harsher penalties for offenders.
