South Korean police announced on Monday, September 2, that they have opened an investigation into the Telegram messaging service, which they accuse of:” encourage “ the dissemination of fake pornographic content using in particular the image of minors. This content, pornographic deepfakes, are montages generated with artificial intelligence in which the faces of individuals are plastered onto photos or in sexual videos.
“Telegram has not responded to our previous requests for account information. [d’utilisateurs] in previous investigations into Telegram-related crimes”said the head of the South Korean National Police Investigation Bureau, Woo Jong-soo.
“In light of these crimes, the Seoul National Police Agency opened its investigation last week (…) for encouraging these crimes”Woo added at a news conference obtained by Agence France-Presse. Police received 88 reports over the past week and identified 24 suspects, he said.
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Photos of victims found on social media
The creators of this illegal content often collect photos of their victims from social networks. According to the police, most of the victims are girls, 60% of them minors.
Online crime is rife in South Korea, activists say, including the exploitation of spy cameras and the posting of revenge porn (private pornographic content shared without consent for revenge).
At the end of August, the South Korean daily Hankyoreh claimed that university students were running a Telegram chat group that circulated pornographic deepfakes of their female classmates, a case that sparked public anger.
The investigation opened by the Seoul police comes after the arrest, on August 24 in France, of the boss of Telegram, Pavel Durov. After four days of indictment, the billionaire was released but he is subject to heavy judicial control including a ban on leaving French territory. According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, he is notably indicted for “refusal to communicate the information necessary for interceptions authorized by law” and complicity in offenses and crimes organized by the platform.
South Korean police have pledged to cooperate with “various investigative bodies, including France”Mr. Woo assured.
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