South Korean lawmakers at a parliamentary audit criticised online platforms for failing to promptly block or remove drug sales and prostitution-brokering posts and for weak victim-protection systems. They also raised concerns over youth safeguards on AI character chat services and delays in government reviews. Officials and company representatives discussed limits on local authority at global platforms, cases of exposed victim information in Google takedown requests, Telegram’s response system, and upcoming decisions on in-app payment fines and a completed probe into KT.

South Korean lawmakers at a parliamentary audit questioned Google and Telegram over their responses to digital sex crimes. They cited cases in which victims seeking removal of illegal recordings had personal information exposed on outside websites and said takedown requests were delayed by verification steps and mismatched reporting details. Lawmakers also challenged Telegram over the continued distribution of child and youth sexual exploitation material and deepfake sex crimes, and raised concerns about illegal sites appearing in Google search results.