South Korea: Police launch preliminary investigation into Telegram over deepfake sex crimes [Video]

South Korean police have launched a preliminary investigation into the instant messaging service platform Telegram on suspicions of abetting deep fake sex crimes, the chief police investigator said on Monday.

The move comes as South Korea scrambles to combat deep fake pornography targeting young women, including teenagers, which has been circulated online, Yonhap news agency.

“As France has done, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched an internal investigation into the corporate entity of Telegram before officially booking it,” said Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Office of Investigation.

“The charges are about abetting this crime,” he said, referring to deep fake videos.

Last month, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was arrested in France as part of a preliminary investigation into alleged failures to prevent criminal uses of his platform.

Woo acknowledged potential challenges in the investigation, saying, “Telegram does not readily provide investigation data, such as account information, to us or other state investigative bodies, …