Telegram deletes 25 deepfake videos at Korea's request

In response to the Korea Communications Standards Commission's urgent request, Telegram deleted 25 deepfake pornographic videos and created a new email address for better communication.

Telegram's app logo is seen in this illustration from August 2024. [REUTERS]

Telegram deleted 25 sexually exploitative videos made with deepfake technology in compliance with the Korea Communications Standards Commission's (KCSC) request and provided a new email address that is expected to better facilitate urgent communication, the media watchdog said Tuesday.

The KCSC had requested that Telegram delete 25 videos containing deepfake pornographic content on Sunday and deemed the action urgent, the commission said in a statement.

Telegram’s East Asian branch stated that it had been diligently following through with the commission's requests and confirmed that it had deleted the videos in an email to the KCSC on Tuesday.

The messenger also apologized for any misunderstanding between the two organizations, saying it had only learned of Korea’s difficulties “with handling illicit content on [their] platform” through media reports.

The KCSC has been asking Telegram to delete certain content since 2019, identified through the organization’s monitoring or civilian request. Though Telegram complied with the requests, it did not send emails confirming the deletion, prompting the agency to check manually whether the content was indeed gone.

Telegram, on Tuesday, provided the KCSC with a new email address to be used only for communication with the agency and said it wanted to create a trusting relationship with the organization to make Telegram a safer environment for Korean users, the watchdog said.

The KCSC said it “welcomed Telegram’s response,” and said it would pursue the creation of a hotline with the messenger service to fully resolve the pending issues of deepfake pornography and ultimately eradicate digital sex crimes.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]