South Korean police are investigating Telegram for its involvement in deepfake sex crimes, with victims including teenagers. Telegram, a messaging app based in Dubai, is facing heavy scrutiny as its CEO, Pavel Durov, is already under investigation by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office on at least 12 charges.
The National Police Agency of South Korea reported that between August 26 and 29, they received 88 reports of deepfake sex crimes, identifying 24 suspects. Authorities are also looking into eight automated programs that create deepfake pornography for Telegram, along with chat rooms that spread such content.
Woo Jong-soo, head of the investigation bureau at the National Police Agency, stated, “Telegram has not responded to our previous requests for account information during earlier investigations linked to crimes on the platform.” This led the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to start an internal investigation into Telegram’s corporate entity.
Woo also mentioned that Telegram only readily shares investigation data, like account information, with law enforcement, including agencies in the US. South Korean police plan to work with French authorities and international associations to find ways to investigate Telegram.
Pavel Durov, arrested in France on August 24 and charged four days later, has not been jailed but is under judicial supervision. He must pay a €5 million deposit, be conveyed to a French police station twice a week, and cannot leave France. Durov holds multiple nationalities, including Russian, French, UAE, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
