The popular messaging app, Telegram, has issued an apology to South Korean authorities for its handling of deepfake pornographic material shared on its platform.

This comes amid a growing digital sex crime epidemic in the country.

The apology follows a recent investigation launched by South Korean police into Telegram, accusing the company of “abetting” the distribution of sexually explicit deepfake videos.

These videos, often created using artificial intelligence to combine real faces with fake bodies, have been circulating in numerous Telegram chatrooms, many of which were reportedly run by teenagers.

In a statement to South Korea’s Communications Standards Commission, Telegram acknowledged the situation as “unfortunate” and apologized for any misunderstandings.

The company confirmed it had removed 25 such videos at the request of the KCSC and proposed a dedicated email address for future communication with the regulator.

The KCSC described Telegram’s approach as “very forward-looking” and noted that the company has “acknowledged the seriousness” of the situation.

The crisis has sparked outrage in South Korea, with recent investigations uncovering deepfake porn rings at two major universities. Police have received 118 reports of such videos in just five days, and seven suspects, six of whom are teenagers, have been questioned.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has instructed authorities to “thoroughly investigate and address these digital sex crimes to eradicate them.”

The country’s laws allow for up to five years in prison and fines of up to 50 million won for those found guilty of creating sexually explicit deepfakes.

This incident follows the recent arrest of Telegram’s Russian-born founder, Pavel Durov, in France on allegations of child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraud taking place on the app.

As the investigation continues, women’s rights activists have criticized South Korean authorities for allowing sexual abuse to persist on the platform, recalling a 2019 incident where a Telegram-based sex ring blackmailed numerous women and children.