Seoul, Feb 11 (IANS) South Korea’s media watchdog said on Wednesday it has launched a probe into US social media platform Instagram over allegations that the service disabled user accounts without justifiable reasons last year.

The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) said the investigation will examine whether Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram violated the local telecommunications act and provided proper and timely support to affected users, reports Yonhap news agency.

The move follows complaints that a number of Korean user accounts were permanently disabled in May and June last year, even though they were not related to Instagram’s measures to protect juveniles from sexual content introduced under its strengthened teen protection guidelines, according to the KMCC.

The KMCC said it will impose fines and issue corrective orders if any violations are confirmed.

Last month, media watchdog said asked US-based social media platform X to come up with measures to protect minor users from sexual content generated by the artificial intelligence (AI) model Grok.

The Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) said it delivered the request to the operator amid growing concerns over deepfake sexual content that can be generated by AI platforms.

“We have asked the operator of X to prevent potential illegal activities on Grok and submit measures to protect teenagers from harmful content, including limiting or managing their access,” the KMCC said in a release.

Under the South Korean law, operators of social network platforms, including X, are required to designate an official in charge of minor protection and submit an annual report, the commission said.

The KMCC said the request was made in line with the regulation, noting it has pointed out that creating, circulating or saving sexual deepfake content generated without consent is subject to criminal punishment.

“We intend to proactively support the sound and safe development of new technologies,” KMCC Chairperson Kim Jong-cheol said.

—IANS

na/