Recently, the South Korean government launched an investigation into the instant messaging software Telegram due to the emergence of a large number of indecent videos produced using Deepfake technology on the platform, which mainly targeted female and teenage victims.
Fueled by public and political outrage over the incident, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has launched an investigation into allegations that Telegram neglected its duties by allowing deepfake pornography to spread on its platform, the report said.
Although South Korean authorities have begun investigating the Telegram platform, it remains to be seen how effective this action will be.
What happened:
South Korean police found eight programs on Telegram that automatically generated Deepfake videos, and received 88 reports of related cases in a short period of time as complaints surged. Telegram failed to provide key account information, making it complicated for police to track down and punish criminals.
To intensify the crackdown, the South Korean government is working with French investigators as Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces arrest in France on charges of operating an instant messaging platform that has hosted a large number of cybercrime activities.
The South Korean government is working on ways to help victims, including setting up a 24-hour hotline and increasing the number of personnel monitoring digital sex crimes. Meanwhile, the National Police Agency has launched a plan to combat online sex crimes, including working with social media sites to remove and block objectionable content.
At the same time, the South Korean government hopes that Telegram and other social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, will urgently cooperate to delete those bad Deepfake videos. They stressed that the production and dissemination of such videos is a serious violation of personal dignity and rights.
The proliferation of Deepfake videos in South Korea has allegedly caused great social concern, especially because many of the victims are young female students and military personnel. This year, the Korea Communications Standards Commission has received more than 6,400 requests to remove such indecent content.
Conclusion:
Finally, the fight against Deepfakes is not only a technical issue, but also a social and legal issue. As technology develops, how we protect personal privacy and dignity has become an urgent issue to be addressed.
However, this incident has also attracted people's attention and doubts. After Telegram CEO was arrested in France, South Korea immediately took action against him, which also raised people's questions about whether the two incidents are related!
What do you think of the South Korean police investigation into Telegram? How much responsibility do you think social media platforms should bear in policing illegal content? Leave a comment!