Explanation: Why South Korea is cracking down on deepfake sex crimes

SEOUL, Aug 31 – South Korean regulators and police this week vowed to crack down on sexually exploitative deepfakes and called on Telegram and other social media companies to work with them to combat the practice.

What caused the recent unrest in South Korea?

Several domestic media outlets recently reported that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were common in Telegram chatrooms.

Around the same time, South Korean feminist groups and international K-pop fans became more active on social media, calling for action and offering tips on how to expose such chat rooms.

The outcry also follows the conviction of a man this month for his involvement in a deepfake pornography case targeting female students at Seoul National University.

Gender issues are particularly sensitive in South Korea and are hotly debated in many public forums.

Are sexual deepfakes more common in South Korea?

South Korea is the country most affected by deepfake pornography. According to a 2023 global deepfake report by Security Hero, a US startup specializing in identity theft protection, female singers and actresses make up 53 percent of the people depicted in such deepfakes.

South Korean police say the number of deepfake sex crime cases they have handled so far this year has risen to 297. For comparison, in the whole of 2021, when the data was first collected, there were 156. Most of the victims and perpetrators are teenagers, they say.

South Korea has also struggled with a number of high-profile digital sex crimes in recent years, ranging from an online blackmail ring to spycam porn.

Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) Chairman Ryu Hee-Lim chairs an emergency meeting on digital sex crimes after media reported that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were frequently found in Telegram chatrooms in Seoul, Aug. 28, 2024. – Yonhap image via Reuters

What are the authorities doing?

South Korea's crackdown on sexual deepfakes coincided with the official investigation of Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of Telegram, in France this week as authorities there investigate organized crime on the messaging app.

In addition to urging social media companies to cooperate more actively in deleting and blocking such content, South Korea's media regulator has also asked French authorities to regularly cooperate on Telegram-related issues and facilitate direct communication with Telegram.

In addition, the South Korean government announced on Friday that it would push for stricter laws to criminalize the purchase or viewing of sexually exploitative deepfakes.

South Korean police are planning a seven-month campaign against digital sex crimes, increasing the number of supervisors monitoring such cases and setting up a 24-hour hotline for victims.

How do social media companies react?

Telegram said in a statement to Reuters that it actively moderates harmful content on its platform, including illegal pornography.

YouTube this week demonetized the channel of a right-wing South Korean creator with more than a million subscribers and removed one of his videos after he downplayed the severity of deepfake crimes and mocked women who expressed concern.

It cited violations of the platform's harassment policies and said it was “committed to eradicating digital sex crimes on our platform.” — Reuters