Advertisement

South Korea vows tougher stance after outcry over sexual deepfakes in Telegram chat rooms

South Korean President Yoon called for a crackdown on digital sex crimes amid rising deepfake abuse, highlighting the need for stronger legislation

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
South Korea’s president called for an investigation into deepfake porn after media reports that Telegram chatrooms were sharing explicit images of minors at schools and universities sparked public outrage.
Photo: Getty

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday called for digital sex crimes to be thoroughly investigated after media reported that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chat rooms.

Advertisement

The reports by domestic media have coincided with the arrest of Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Russian-born founder, over the weekend – part of a French probe into child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud on the encrypted messaging app.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission, the state media regulator, plans to hold a meeting on Wednesday to discuss measures to counter sexually explicit deepfakes.

“It’s an exploitation of technology while relying on the protection of anonymity. It’s a clear criminal act,” Yoon said during a televised cabinet meeting.

Yoon talked about sex crimes on social media in general and did not mention Telegram by name.

Advertisement

Telegram did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Advertisement