[An image of a gavel. Photo credit to Pxhere]

On August 24, Pavel Durov, the CEO and founder of Telegram, was arrested at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport after refusing to cooperate with legal authorities.

Telegram is a popular communication app that ensures strict protection of user data, which has drawn both praise and controversy.

The app’s commitment to privacy means that even when illegal activities occur on its platform, it often declines to share information with law enforcement.

This has led to Telegram being a favored tool for those involved in illicit activities such as human trafficking, drug trade, and other criminal operations.

A new form of cybercrime using Telegram has caused commotion in South Korean society: “deepfake” chat rooms.

These chat rooms are being used to create artificial nude videos of female students, ranging from university to middle school age, using AI technology.

The victims are not limited to students; female adults, including teachers, have also been targeted.

The process is alarmingly simple: An image, typically captured from a woman’s social media account, is sent to a bot within the group chat.

AI technology then combines the woman’s face with pornographic video footage to create a fake nude video.

In response, female students across Korea are spreading the word about this group’s method through social media.

Many women have taken the precautionary measure of removing all their photos from online platforms.

The Telegram chat rooms are organized by region and further subdivided by school names, making the targeting of victims more systematic.

The group chat in question was revealed to have more than 220,000 active members.

On top of all this, this type of crime is not a new phenomenon.

In 2020, a similar group chat was uncovered, engaging in the same activity: creating pornographic videos using artificial intelligence.

However, South Korean laws punishing these sexual crimes are comparatively lenient.

For example, offenses involving inappropriate photography or videos taken without consent, as well as the sale, distribution, or sharing of such content, carry a maximum sentence of five years.

Offenders may even opt to pay a fine to avoid imprisonment.

This “up to five years” law pales in comparison to more strict measures in other countries.

In the United States, for example, first-time offenders in cases involving child pornography face a mimimum sentence of 15 years, which may extend up to 30 years.

Australia imposes even harsher penalties, with sentences ranging from 14 to 20 years depending on the victim’s age.

Critics argue that South Korea’s weak laws are negatively influencing a dangerous mindset among men, who may perceive sexual crimes as less severe.

Many South Koreans are calling for exemplary punishment of the Telegram deep fake chat participants.

They argue that all 220,000-plus members should face consequences for their actions, believing this would serve as a deterrent and help reduce the rate of sexual assault-related crimes.

The perceived slow response from news outlets and reporters has fueled public outrage and skepticism toward the Korean government.

Citizens are questioning whether victims will receive the justice they deserve in light of these circumstances.