South Korea tackles deepfake porn with tougher penalties and regulations

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea announced a package of steps on Nov. 6 to curb the rise in deepfake porn, saying it would toughen penalties for criminals, expand the use of undercover police and impose greater regulations on social media platforms.

In South Korea, concerns about non-consensual, digitally manipulated sexually explicit video content deepened when unapproved lists of schools where victims were found spread online in August. Horrified, many girls and women removed photos and videos from their Instagram, Facebook and other social media accounts, while others held rallies calling for stronger action against deepfake porn.

Chairman Yoon Suk Yeol immediately confirmed the rapid spread of explicit deepfake content and ordered authorities to “root out these digital sex crimes.” The police are currently under a seven-month special crackdown that will last until March 2025.

The government is working with MPs to review laws to increase penalties for perpetrators involved in deepfake porn-related crimes, a task force said in a statement.

It cited a recently amended law that, for the first time, makes viewing or possession of deepfake porn illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison. The maximum penalty for those who produce or distribute deepfake porn content has been increased from five to seven years.

Police have detained 506 suspects so far this year, 411 of whom were between the ages of 10 and 19.

The task force said it would push for confidential online investigations even in cases where victims are adults. The law currently allows such methods only in cases where the victims are minors. The government is also planning another overhaul that would allow authorities to seize profits from deepfake porn businesses.

The task force said it would seek to more aggressively fine social media platforms when they fail to prevent the spread of deepfakes and other illegal content. It was stated that South Korea plans to increase the number of monitors on social media platforms from the current 12 to 26.

The task force will also expand mandatory education programs on digital sex crimes in schools and produce relevant public awareness videos featuring celebrities popular with teens and young people in their 20s.

Most suspected perpetrators of deepfake porn cases in South Korea are young men. Observers say the boys target their female friends, relatives and acquaintances (often minors) as a joke, out of curiosity or out of misogyny.

The deepfake porn problem in South Korea has raised serious questions about school programs, but also threatens to worsen an already problematic divide between men and women.

Experts say the prevalence of deepfake porn in the country is attributed to several factors, including heavy use of smartphones, lack of comprehensive sex and human rights education in schools, inadequate social media regulations for minors, as well as misogyny and social media. Norms that sexually objectify women. – Access point