The investigation will look into whether it had been aiding and abetting the spread of deepfake material that is sexually explicit.
According to a senior police official cited by the Yonhap news agency on Monday, South Korean police have opened an investigation into the messaging app Telegram regarding deepfake online sex crimes.
According to Yonhap, which quoted the head of the National Office of Investigation, the investigation will look into whether it had been aiding and abetting the distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content.
When contacted by phone, a representative from the National Police Agency’s cyber investigation bureau declined to confirm the report.
Telegram and other social media platforms have been urged by South Korean authorities to work together in the fight against sexually explicit deepfake content.
The actions come in response to reports from a number of domestic media outlets that deepfake videos and images featuring sexually explicit South Korean women were frequently discovered in Telegram chatrooms.
Although the company stated last week that it actively moderates harmful content on its platform, including illegal pornography, Telegram could not immediately be reached for comment.
“Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring of public parts of the platform, sophisticated AI tools and user reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day,” the statement read.
