CNN<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While revenge porn \u2013 the nonconsensual sharing of sexual images \u2013 has been around for nearly as long as the internet, the proliferation of AI tools means that anyone can be targeted by explicit deepfakes, even if they\u2019ve never taken or sent a nude photo. <\/p>\n
South Korea has had a particularly fraught recent history of digital sex crimes, from\u202fhidden cameras\u202fin public facilities to Telegram\u202fchat rooms\u202fwhere women and girls were coerced and blackmailed into posting demeaning sexual content. <\/p>\n
But deepfake\u202ftechnology is now posing a new threat, and the crisis is particularly acute in schools. Between January and early November\u202flast year, more than 900 students, teachers and staff in schools reported that they fell victim to\u202fdeepfake\u202fsex\u202fcrimes, according to data from the\u202fcountry\u2019s\u202feducation ministry. Those figures do not include universities, which have also seen a spate of deepfake porn attacks. <\/p>\n
In response, the ministry established an emergency task force. And in September, legislators passed an amendment that\u202fmade possessing and viewing\u202fdeepfake\u202fporn punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won (over $20,000). <\/p>\n
Creating and distributing non-consensual deepfake explicit images now has a maximum prison sentence of seven years, up from five. <\/p>\n
South Korea\u2019s National Police Agency has urged its officers to \u201ctake the lead in completely eradicating deepfake sex crimes.\u201d <\/p>\n
But of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported from January to October last year, police made 23 arrests, according to a Seoul National Police statement. <\/p>\n
Ruma was a 27-year-old university student when her nightmare first began. When she went to the police, they told her they would request user information from Telegram, but warned the platform was notorious for not sharing such data, she said. <\/p>\n
Once an outgoing student who enjoyed school and an active social life, Ruma said the incident had completely changed her life. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt broke my whole belief system about the world,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact that they could use such vulgar, rough images to humiliate and violate you to that extreme extent really damages you almost irrevocably.\u201d <\/p>\n
She decided to act after learning that investigations into reports by other students had ended after a few months, with police citing difficulty in identifying suspects. <\/p>\n
Ruma and fellow students sought help from Won Eun-ji, an activist who gained national fame for exposing South Korea\u2019s largest\u202fdigital sex crime group on Telegram\u202fin 2020. <\/p>\n
Won agreed to help, creating a fake Telegram account and posing as a man in his 30s to infiltrate the chat room where the\u202fdeepfake\u202fimages had circulated. She spent nearly two years carefully gathering information and engaging other users in conversation, before coordinating with police to help carry out a sting operation. <\/p>\n
When police confronted the suspect, Won sent him a Telegram message. His phone pinged \u2013 he had been caught. <\/p>\n
Two former students from the prestigious Seoul National University (SNU) were arrested last May. The main perpetrator was ultimately sentenced to 9 years in prison for producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials, while an accomplice was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. <\/p>\n
Excerpts of the ruling shared by Ruma\u2019s lawyers state, \u201cThe fake explicit materials produced by\u202fthe perpetrator are repugnant, and the conversations surrounding them are shocking \u2026 They targeted victims as if they were hunting prey, sexually insulted the victims and destroyed their dignity by using photos from graduations, weddings, and family gatherings.\u201d <\/p>\n
Ruma\u2019s case is just one of thousands across South Korea \u2013 and some victims had\u202fless help from police. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy hands started to shake,\u201d she recalled. \u201cWhen could this photo have been taken, and who would upload such a thing?\u201d <\/p>\n
But she said the situation worsened two days later. Her hair was made messy, and her body was altered to make it look like she was looking back. The manipulated picture of her face was added onto nude photos.\u202fThe sophisticated technology made the images unnervingly realistic. <\/p>\n
Police told her that their only option to identify the poster was to request user information from Twitter, the social media platform bought by Elon Musk in 2022 and rebranded as X in 2023, with an emphasis on free speech and privacy. <\/p>\n
Kim and a colleague, also a victim of a secret filming, feared that using official channels to identify the user would take too long and <\/strong>launched their own investigation. <\/p>\n They identified the person: a quiet, introverted student \u201csomeone you\u2019d never imagine doing such a thing,\u201d Kim said. <\/p>\n
The person was charged but regardless of what happens in court, she said life will never be the same. <\/p>\n
She said a lack of public empathy has frustrated her too. \u201cI read a lot of articles and comments about\u202fdeepfakes saying, \u2018Why is it a serious crime when it\u2019s not even your real body?\u2019\u201d Kim said. <\/p>\n
According to X\u2019s current policy, obtaining user information involves obtaining a subpoena, court order, or other valid legal document and submitting a request on law enforcement letterhead via its website. <\/p>\n
X says it\u2019s company policy to inform users that a request has been made. <\/p>\n
Its rules on authenticity state that users \u201cmay not share inauthentic content on X that may deceive people or lead to harm.\u201d <\/p>\n
Won, the activist, said that for a long time, sharing and viewing sexual content of women was not considered a serious offense in South Korea. <\/p>\n
Though pornography is banned, authorities have long failed to enforce the law or punish offenders, Won said. <\/p>\n
Societal apathy makes it easier for perpetrators to commit digital sex crimes, Won said, including what she called \u201cacquaintance humiliation.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAcquaintance humiliation\u201d often begins with perpetrators sharing photos and personal information of women they know on Telegram, offering to create\u202fdeepfake\u202fcontent or asking others to do so. Victims live in fear as attackers often know their personal information \u2013 where they live, work,\u202fand even details about their families \u2013 posing real threats to their safety and allowing anonymous users to harass women directly. <\/p>\n
Since South Korea\u2019s largest\u202fdigital sex exploitation case on Telegram\u202f<\/em>in 2020,\u202fWon said the sexual exploitation ecosystem had fluctuated, shrinking during large-scale police investigations but expanding again once authorities ease off. <\/p>\n Online platforms are also under pressure to act. <\/p>\n
Telegram, which has become a fertile space for various digital crimes, announced it would begin sharing user data with authorities as part of a broader crackdown on illegal activities. <\/p>\n
The move came after the company\u2019s CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in August in France on a warrant relating to Telegram\u2019s lack of moderation, marking a turning point for a platform long recognized for its commitment to privacy and encrypted messaging.\u202fDurov is under formal investigation but has been allowed to leave France, he said in a post on Telegram. <\/p>\n
Last September, South Korea\u2019s media regulator said Telegram had agreed to establish a hotline to help wipe illegal content from the app, and that the company had removed 148 digital sex crime videos as requested by the regulator. <\/p>\n\n\n
\n
\u201cThis is something that has been delayed for far too long.\u201d <\/p>\n
Won Eun-ji, Activist & Journalist <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n
Won welcomed this move,\u202fbut with some skepticism \u2013 saying governments should remove the app from app stores, to prevent new users from signing up, if Telegram doesn\u2019t show substantial progress soon. \u201cThis is something that has been delayed for far too long,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
A meaningful breakthrough occurred this January, marking the first time Korean authorities successfully obtained crime-related data from Telegram, according to Seoul police. <\/p>\n
Fourteen people were arrested, including six minors, for allegedly sexually exploiting over 200 victims through Telegram. The criminal ring\u2019s mastermind had allegedly targeted men and women of various ages since 2020, and more than 70 others were under investigation for\u202fallegedly\u202fcreating and sharing\u202fdeepfake\u202fexploitation materials, Seoul police said. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter how much punishments are strengthened, there are still far more victims who suffer because their perpetrators have not been caught, and that\u2019s why it feels like the verdict is still far from being a true realization of change or justice,\u201d Ruma said. \u201cThere\u2019s a long way to go.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n
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