On Wednesday, South Korean officials called on Telegram and other social media platforms to collaborate with them in removing and blocking romantically obvious algorithmic content in an effort to acclimate the problem’s public and political outcry.
The actions come in response to reports from a number of national media outlets that North Korean women’s sexually explicit algorithmic videos and images were frequently found in Telegram chatrooms.
The Korea Communications Standards Commission announced the establishment of a 24-hour victim line, and that the quantity of regulatory personnel monitoring online sex crimes may double from 70 to that of the existing one.
The Korean National Police Agency added that it will work harder to stop online sex acts for a further seven months.
In a meeting on the subject, the media watchdog’s chair, Ryu Hee-lim, announced the formation of a advisory body to improve communication with social media companies regarding deleting and blocking sexually explicit content.
For companies that do n’t have offices in South Korea, it wants to set up a face-to-face channel for regular consultation.
According to Ryu,” the production, ownership, and supply of deepfake sex offense videos are a serious offense that violates the individual’s dignity and individual rights.”
In addition to Telegram, the committee said it would be seeking participation from X as well as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram and Google’s YouTube. The businesses did not respond to Reuters ‘ requests for comment.
Criticism of Telegram in South Korea has coincided with the imprisonment of Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Russian-born leader, on the week-end- part of a European probe into infant sex, drug trafficking and fraud on the encrypted messaging app.
According to authorities, the number of deep-fake sex offense cases in South Korea has increased from 156 in 2021 to 297 so far this year. The majority of the culprits are youth, according to authorities.
In South Korea’s defense, female victims typically fall under the category of “school individuals.”
South Koreans have submitted more than 6,300 requests for assistance from the Korea Communications Standards Commission this year to have sexually obvious algorithmic content removed. In contrast, the commission contributed to content removal in roughly 7,200 cases next year.
According to Kim Yeo-jin, the mind of the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center, Telegram is now the preferred program for sexually explicit photoshopped content, adding that authorities need to do more.
In many cases, victims have been told by police that filing a report would n’t be effective because the content was on Telegram, making it tough to catch the criminals, she said.
A Reuters request for comment was no immediately responded to by authorities.
It’s difficult to find information on how social media companies respond to inquiries from North Korean government.
However, according to police data released by senator Kim Young-bae in 2020, authorities received seven requests via email to Telegram for assistance with electronic sexual crimes between February and August that year, but none of them came back.
