Seoul: South Korea's media watchdog said Wednesday it has launched a probe into U.S. social media platform Instagram over allegations that the service disabled user accounts without justifiable reasons last year.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korea Media and Communications Commission (KMCC) announced the investigation will focus on whether Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram violated the local telecommunications act and whether the company provided proper and timely support to affected users.

The probe comes after complaints surfaced that several Korean user accounts were permanently disabled in May and June of the previous year. These account deactivations reportedly were not related to Instagram's measures to shield juveniles from sexual content under its enhanced teen protection guidelines, as stated by the KMCC.

The KMCC has indicated that it will impose fines and issue corrective orders if any violations of the law are confirmed.