South Korea urges Telegram to crack down on deepfake sex crimes

South Korea’s decision comes as Telegram founder Pavel Durov was detained in France this weekend on allegations the messaging app failed to adequately combat crime on the app, including the spread of child sexual abuse material. — Reuters

The South Korean government has asked messaging app Telegram and other social media companies to delete sexually explicit deepfake sex images from their platforms after a surge in such content.

Korea Communications Standards Commission will set up a round the clock hot-line with Telegram for direct and constant consultations to crack down on the spread of deepfakes, the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday. The regulator mentioned Telegram as the main distribution channel for deepfake content and did not name other social media companies in its statement.