Telegram Faces Global Crackdown: Deepfake Scandals and CEO Arrest Fuel Growing Legal Troubles

Telegram is grappling with increasing legal issues, following the arrest of its founder in France, and now facing scrutiny in South Korea. The South Korean police have initiated a preliminary investigation into Telegram’s involvement in abetting sex crimes, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency. This move comes amid the country’s efforts to address the growing spread of deepfake pornography, which primarily targets young women, including teenagers.

This investigation marks another significant legal challenge for Telegram, whose founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, was arrested in France on August 24 due to allegations connected to the messaging app’s role in criminal activities. Durov’s arrest followed a French probe, which was launched on July 8, focusing on the platform’s involvement in distributing pornographic images of minors and facilitating organized crime, drug trafficking, and fraud.

The situation in South Korea parallels the French investigation. Durov, a Russian-born billionaire, has been accused of failing to prevent illegal activities on the platform. In response, Telegram defended its actions, asserting that it complies with European Union laws. “Durov has nothing to hide” the platform stated on social media site X. South Korea’s top investigator, Woo Jong-soo, acknowledged the similarities between the two cases and revealed plans to cooperate with French authorities and other international institutions. One of the challenges investigators face is Telegram’s reluctance to share user data with authorities. Woo stated that the company’s refusal to provide information, even when legally required, complicates the investigation. This stance has been a significant point of contention in the French case as well.

While Durov’s arrest represents an unusual step, Telegram has encountered legal troubles in various countries, including Brazil and Germany, related to illegal content on the platform. Despite these issues, Telegram insists that its content moderation practices meet industry standards and are continuously improving. The platform’s high level of anonymity has long made it a magnet for bad actors. By requiring only a phone number for registration and offering encrypted conversations via its “secret chats” feature, Telegram has been exploited by scammers, extremists, and more recently, distributors of deepfake porn. Deepfakes, digital alterations of real people’s images or videos, have become increasingly common with the rise of AI technology. South Korean authorities are currently investigating eight automated programs responsible for generating deepfake pornography on Telegram, as well as chat rooms distributing the content. The investigation comes amid public pressure to respond to the growing number of cases where Telegram groups, some with up to 220,000 members, have shared sexually exploitative images of young women, including students from local universities, high schools, and middle schools.

This is not the first time Telegram has been linked to a sex crime scandal in South Korea. In 2020, a ringleader of an online network was arrested for using Telegram to blackmail women and children into sending explicit images. However, no legal action was taken against Telegram at that time. Chris Beer, a tech analyst at GWI, commented on Durov’s arrest, stating that it’s unclear how far authorities will go in regulating and cracking down on Telegram. He also noted the ongoing tension between consumer demand for free speech and the need for government intervention to protect users from harmful content.

Source: CNBC