[Unofficial translation provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

“S. Korea: police launch investigation into Telegram for alleged complicity in deepfake sex crimes”, 2 September 2024

South Korean police have begun an investigation into Telegram to determine whether the encrypted messaging platform has been complicit in the distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content...

Woo Jong-soo, the head of the National Investigation Headquarters ... explained that "compared to January through July this year, (…) last week’s reports have increased nearly tenfold. It seems victims are now actively reporting incidents that would have been overlooked in the past, much like the 'Me Too' movement."

On the swifter identification of suspects compared to previous cases, he commented, “Many of the victims are specifying the individuals responsible when filing complaints, which has helped speed up the investigation.”

Currently, police are conducting a pre-investigation into eight Telegram bots alleged to be involved in the automatic generation of deepfake sexual exploitation material.