South Korea police launch probe into Telegram over online sex crimes, Yonhap reports
Sep 02, 2024
SEOUL - South Korean police have launched an investigation into the messaging platform Telegram over deepfake online sex crimes, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, citing a senior police official.
The probe will examine whether it had been abetting distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content, Yonhap said, quoting the head of the National Office of Investigation.
An official at the National Police Agency's cyber investigation bureau declined to confirm the report when reached by telephone.
South Korean authorities have called on Telegram and other social media platforms for cooperation in fighting sexually explicit deepfake content.
The steps follow reports by several domestic media outlets that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms.
Telegram could not immediately be reached for comment but the company last week said it actively moderates harmful content on its platform including illegal pornography.
"Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring of public parts of the platform, sophisticated AI tools and user reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day," it said in a statement.
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed Telegram logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Sep 02, 2024
SEOUL - South Korean police have launched an investigation into the messaging platform Telegram over deepfake online sex crimes, Yonhap news agency reported on Monday, citing a senior police official.
The probe will examine whether it had been abetting distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content, Yonhap said, quoting the head of the National Office of Investigation.
An official at the National Police Agency's cyber investigation bureau declined to confirm the report when reached by telephone.
South Korean authorities have called on Telegram and other social media platforms for cooperation in fighting sexually explicit deepfake content.
The steps follow reports by several domestic media outlets that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms.
Telegram could not immediately be reached for comment but the company last week said it actively moderates harmful content on its platform including illegal pornography.
"Moderators use a combination of proactive monitoring of public parts of the platform, sophisticated AI tools and user reports in order to remove millions of pieces of harmful content each day," it said in a statement.
REUTERS
After Telegram Founder Arrest, Russians Fear Loss of 'Main Information Source'
Since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has cracked down on dissent and protest, leaving Russians without independent news outlets or access to Western social media.
by AFP | September 1, 2024
Since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has cracked down on dissent and protest, leaving Russians without independent news outlets or access to Western social media.
by AFP | September 1, 2024
This picture taken on October 5, 2020 shows the logo of mobile messaging and call service Telegram on a tablet screen.
Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP
France's arrest of Telegram chief Pavel Durov has raised fears in Russia that the popular messaging app -- used both by the Kremlin and its opponents -- could be blocked, depriving them of one of the last sources of critical, uncensored news.
Since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has cracked down on dissent and protest, leaving Russians without independent news outlets or access to Western social media such as Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
In that climate, Telegram -- which was itself blocked for a period by the Kremlin for refusing to cooperate with Russian law enforcement agencies -- has become one of the last bastions of free speech and uncensored information.
Moscow now fears for the fate of the messenger and its Russian-born founder Durov, charged late August with failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the platform.
Though he has been released on bail, he cannot leave the country and the Kremlin has warned France against turning the case against him "into political persecution."
Durov's arrest is not the only headache the privately-owned service faces.
The European Commission is also investigating whether Telegram has more EU users than claimed and must therefore comply with more stringent rules.
- 'For all Russians' -
In Russia, Telegram channels widely cover subjects that are otherwise strictly censored in state media.
Other Topics of Interest
The Unintended Consequences of Surrogate Propaganda Hyperbolism
The Wagner Group is a perfect example of how the weaponization of propaganda can catastrophically backfire and why one should always caution from believing conjured hype.
That includes everything from front-line reports of the conflict in Ukraine to trials of Kremlin critics and manifestos dispatched from political prisoners.
The most popular channels have millions of subscribers.
The Kremlin, government ministries and regional governors also use Telegram as their go-to public communications tool.
"Telegram is a very practical and reliable messaging service for all Russians, regardless of their political opinions," said Alexei Venediktov, head of the Echo of Moscow radio station, blocked in Russia after its criticism of the Ukraine offensive.
The messaging service "is considered independent of the Russian state," the veteran journalist -- who has over 200,000 subscribers there -- told AFP.
Blocking Telegram would be equivalent to "a measure of censorship," he said.
- 'Main source of information' -
Telegram's popularity has grown steadily in Russia throughout the Ukraine conflict, after Russia blocked access to Instagram, Facebook and X, as well as the websites of several opposition media outlets.
It is the fourth most popular online service, ahead of YouTube and the Russian social network VKontakte, according to a study by Russian media research group Mediascope.
It is also heavily focused on news. Two-thirds of its Russian readers prefer to follow political and news channels, with only six percent preferring entertainment or cinema, for instance.
Mila, a 45-year-old psychologist, said she started using it after Facebook was blocked and she now subscribes to some 80 Telegram news channels. She also uses it to communicate privately with friends who are against the offensive in Ukraine.
"Today, it is my main source of information. If Telegram stops working, it will hurt me a lot," Mila told AFP, speaking on condition her full name not be used.
Advertisement
Naida, a 56-year-old logistician said she trusts Telegram more than other messaging services.
"And all the news is there, you don't need to have a VPN on all the time," she said.
Telegram is now "the main source of information" for those seeking independent views, said political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
"Telegram has no alternative" in Russia, she said, adding the free flow of information on the service is a throwback to before President Vladimir Putin began to crack down hard on dissent.
- Battlefield communications -
Amid the conflict in Ukraine, the platform has also become a key military communication tool.
Both Russia and Ukraine warn their populations of incoming air attacks via Telegram posts, while their armies use it to communicate and coordinate internally.
"Telegram has almost become the main way of commanding units on both sides of the front," said Mikhail Zvinchuk, a former military officer whose Telegram blog on the conflict, Rybar, has more than 1.3 million subscribers.
Pro-Kremlin Russian journalist Andrei Medvedev also said Telegram was "the main messaging service" of the conflict.
"It is an alternative to the secret military communication system," he said.
Thanks to its broad appeal across the political spectrum, the fate of Durov and the implications for the site have become a rare point of unifying concern.
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, recently released as part of a historic prisoner exchange with the West, is among those who have taken Durov's side.
"I do not consider Pavel Durov a criminal, and I hope that he will be able to prove his innocence," Yashin said.
France's arrest of Telegram chief Pavel Durov has raised fears in Russia that the popular messaging app -- used both by the Kremlin and its opponents -- could be blocked, depriving them of one of the last sources of critical, uncensored news.
Since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has cracked down on dissent and protest, leaving Russians without independent news outlets or access to Western social media such as Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
In that climate, Telegram -- which was itself blocked for a period by the Kremlin for refusing to cooperate with Russian law enforcement agencies -- has become one of the last bastions of free speech and uncensored information.
Moscow now fears for the fate of the messenger and its Russian-born founder Durov, charged late August with failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the platform.
Though he has been released on bail, he cannot leave the country and the Kremlin has warned France against turning the case against him "into political persecution."
Durov's arrest is not the only headache the privately-owned service faces.
The European Commission is also investigating whether Telegram has more EU users than claimed and must therefore comply with more stringent rules.
- 'For all Russians' -
In Russia, Telegram channels widely cover subjects that are otherwise strictly censored in state media.
Other Topics of Interest
The Unintended Consequences of Surrogate Propaganda Hyperbolism
The Wagner Group is a perfect example of how the weaponization of propaganda can catastrophically backfire and why one should always caution from believing conjured hype.
That includes everything from front-line reports of the conflict in Ukraine to trials of Kremlin critics and manifestos dispatched from political prisoners.
The most popular channels have millions of subscribers.
The Kremlin, government ministries and regional governors also use Telegram as their go-to public communications tool.
"Telegram is a very practical and reliable messaging service for all Russians, regardless of their political opinions," said Alexei Venediktov, head of the Echo of Moscow radio station, blocked in Russia after its criticism of the Ukraine offensive.
The messaging service "is considered independent of the Russian state," the veteran journalist -- who has over 200,000 subscribers there -- told AFP.
Blocking Telegram would be equivalent to "a measure of censorship," he said.
- 'Main source of information' -
Telegram's popularity has grown steadily in Russia throughout the Ukraine conflict, after Russia blocked access to Instagram, Facebook and X, as well as the websites of several opposition media outlets.
It is the fourth most popular online service, ahead of YouTube and the Russian social network VKontakte, according to a study by Russian media research group Mediascope.
It is also heavily focused on news. Two-thirds of its Russian readers prefer to follow political and news channels, with only six percent preferring entertainment or cinema, for instance.
Mila, a 45-year-old psychologist, said she started using it after Facebook was blocked and she now subscribes to some 80 Telegram news channels. She also uses it to communicate privately with friends who are against the offensive in Ukraine.
"Today, it is my main source of information. If Telegram stops working, it will hurt me a lot," Mila told AFP, speaking on condition her full name not be used.
Advertisement
Naida, a 56-year-old logistician said she trusts Telegram more than other messaging services.
"And all the news is there, you don't need to have a VPN on all the time," she said.
Telegram is now "the main source of information" for those seeking independent views, said political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
"Telegram has no alternative" in Russia, she said, adding the free flow of information on the service is a throwback to before President Vladimir Putin began to crack down hard on dissent.
- Battlefield communications -
Amid the conflict in Ukraine, the platform has also become a key military communication tool.
Both Russia and Ukraine warn their populations of incoming air attacks via Telegram posts, while their armies use it to communicate and coordinate internally.
"Telegram has almost become the main way of commanding units on both sides of the front," said Mikhail Zvinchuk, a former military officer whose Telegram blog on the conflict, Rybar, has more than 1.3 million subscribers.
Pro-Kremlin Russian journalist Andrei Medvedev also said Telegram was "the main messaging service" of the conflict.
"It is an alternative to the secret military communication system," he said.
Thanks to its broad appeal across the political spectrum, the fate of Durov and the implications for the site have become a rare point of unifying concern.
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, recently released as part of a historic prisoner exchange with the West, is among those who have taken Durov's side.
"I do not consider Pavel Durov a criminal, and I hope that he will be able to prove his innocence," Yashin said.
Euractiv.com with Reuters
Aug 30, 2024
Undated photo of Pavel Durov. [Public domain]
Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>>
Russians who still share Western values are being told to choose sides and support their warring homeland or risk being victimised by the West, in the same way that Telegram boss Pavel Durov was supposedly victimised by being arrested in France.
The Russian-born tech entrepreneur, with his multiple passports and global ambitions for his messaging platform, was once idolised by cosmopolitan Russians who, before the Ukraine conflict, bet their future on ties with the West, working in multinational firms and travelling the globe.
After Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, many lost their jobs as multinational businesses pulled out, and hundreds of thousands fled Russia to build a new life elsewhere.
But prominent Russian leaders have long told them that they made the wrong choice.
“This [Durov’s detention] is the latest evidence that neutrality during a total world war is impossible for anyone to maintain,” said philosopher Alexander Dugin, widely seen as one of the main ideologues of the Ukraine war.
“There are two irreconcilable worlds at odds with each other: us and them. And there is a chasm between us. Dual citizenships, blurred loyalties, manoeuvring between camps – all of this is in the past,” Dugin said on Telegram.
“You are either with us or against us.”
His remarks echo appeals to Russians who fled the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 by Soviet emissaries who tried to convince them to return home or become foreign agents for the NKVD secret police.
Durov, a 39-year-old billionaire based in Dubai, had been hailed at home as the Russian version of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg or Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. It is not clear whether or not he maintained links with the Kremlin.
But he is now under investigation in France for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, drug trafficking, images of child sex abuse and fraud.
Russia, where media are tightly controlled and dissenting voices are suppressed, says this gives the lie to Western assertions that free speech is sacrosanct.
A lawyer representing Durov said it was “absurd to say that a platform or its boss are responsible for any abuse” carried out on the platform, and that Telegram abided by European laws.
‘Different blood’
Durov’s critics in Russia now say that any Russian who falls for what they regard as “false” Western values could be victimised in the West, although France says his arrest stems from its independent judiciary and is therefore apolitical.
“He [Durov] is Russian, and therefore unpredictable and dangerous. Of different blood. Definitely not Musk or Zuckerberg,” said Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian former president once regarded as pro-Western.
A video recorded by the late outspoken politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky when addressing Durov in 2018 went viral in Russia after his detention.
“A foreign land does not accept you, Pasha. Here at home, it’s both more interesting and more fun,” Zhirinovsky is heard saying in the video, using a diminutive of the name Pavel.
This view has been shared by many Russian Telegram users who have rallied around the flag of what has become known as “Fortress Russia” since the start of what the Kremlin calls its special military operation in Ukraine.
Members of the Russian public are regularly told by state media to view sympathisers with the West as potential traitors.
“This will be a good lesson for those kinds of people who are trying to sit on several chairs at once,” said Irina, a Moscow resident who declined to be identified by her last name for fear of retribution.
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