An online group chat that shared explicit images and videos of Maltese women has been deleted after a female member threatened to go to the police.

The images and videos of dozens of women were shared among hundreds of users on the US messaging platform Discord.

The anonymous users communicated in Maltese and, at least some, if not all, of the content appears to have been shared without the consent of the women involved.

It is not clear how long the server, named ‘Malta Puppies (N.S.F.W)’, operated for but it was deleted on Friday evening after a woman, who appeared to have had her images shared, threatened to take legal action.

She wrote: “Whoever doesn’t delete these will go to court. Tomorrow, I will go to the police station.”

Her appeal to delete the server was initially met with derision, as users mocked her, saying: “Send us more nudes.”

However, the server was eventually deleted after she made the appeal three times.

The police were unable to confirm whether a report has been submitted.

It is illegal to share a private sexual photograph or film without the consent of the person filmed. Anyone found guilty of doing so is liable to a five-year jail term, a fine of up to €8,000, or both. 

Discord is a communications app designed for complex communication among large groups wanting to share files and images.

Users can anonymously join servers – group chats – once they are invited via a link. 

Times of Malta has contacted Discord for a reaction.

Some of the videos were taken from Only Fans accounts of Maltese creators, who told Times of Malta their content had been leaked.

Other images and videos appear not to have been intended for wider sharing.

The Discord channel was also promoted on Reddit last week. Photo: Reddit

Last Wednesday, a user, under the anonymous name u/Glittering_Rise3844, posted the link to the Discord server on Reddit, another social media platform that allows users to remain anonymous. 

The user appeared to take responsibility for the server.

“Created a channel for others to share NSFW (not safe for work) vids and photos of girls in Malta.

“Created a file with 85+ folders that I will share with those who are kind enough to share content on the channel to get the ball rolling in the community,” the user posted, with the link.

Moderators of one subreddit removed the post, while it remains on another with an inactive link.

Times of Malta contacted u/Glittering_Rise3844 about their involvement in the Discord server. 

He replied, cryptically: "Judge not the maker, but the wielder of the tool".

It is not the first time Discord has been at the centre of controversy around the sharing of explicit images.

There was a similar case in Ireland in November when a sever containing 11,000 leaked images of women was shared among 500 users before it was taken down by Discord.