Telegram is in trouble in South Korea too
With the official announcement from South Korean investigation authorities, a judicial investigation into the Telegram platform has also begun in this country.
What South Korean officials have declared as the central issues of their investigation bears significant resemblance to a major part of the accusations against Pavel Durov and the Telegram platform in France. This was even noted in the official statements of the Korean authorities. The South Korean officials have stated that the unchecked spread of unethical and pornographic content, accompanied by fake videos and images, poses both a moral and individual and civic threat, endangering individuals’ reputations and mental health.
The lack of oversight and the failure of Telegram’s administrators to cooperate with supervisory bodies to provide grounds for legal prosecution of offenders and criminals is not something that can be overlooked.
Fake videos known as Deepfake Videos have spread in unusual circumstances in Korea, targeting the reputation and well-being of young girls.
Offenders who have exploited the structures that generate these videos for profit are using two key features of Telegram. One is that they can join this social network by registering a mobile phone number without needing any other data or information about themselves, remaining anonymous. The other is that there is no way to break through the barrier of these offenders’ private messages. South Korean officials have announced that they will collaborate and consult with the French authorities involved in the Durov case in their special investigation into Telegram. A strange period has arrived for this social network.
News reports about the crisis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian and non-military facilities were extensively referenced with information from Western journalists using Ukrainian Telegram channels.
Telegram has also gained significance in news related to Hamas, as it was on Telegram that Hamas released the grim video messages of the last words of Israeli hostages before their execution. Western media have suddenly discovered Telegram.