Telegram apologizes to South Korean authorities

The Korea Communications Commission has announced that Telegram representatives issued an apology to South Korean officials, expressing a desire to improve relations.

The company has also removed several deepfake videos featuring explicit content. Telegram's East Asia division sent an official letter apologizing for the situation, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

"We apologize for any misunderstanding that may have occurred," the letter stated. The representative affirmed the platform's commitment to building a trust-based relationship with the commission to enhance user safety on Telegram. Telegram has provided South Korean authorities with a new exclusive email address for communication and reported the removal of 25 explicit videos at the commission's request.

In response, South Korean officials expressed hope for the establishment of a "hotline" to better address and respond to prohibited content on the platform. On September 2, the South Korean police initiated an internal preliminary investigation into Telegram for facilitating the distribution of prohibited deepfake videos with sexual content. 

On August 22, the South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh reported on Telegram channels where participants were creating and sharing deepfake videos of a sexual nature. The majority of offenders in these cases are minors, and the victims include ordinary women and teenagers from South Korea who were acquaintances of the perpetrators.