The South Korean legislature approved on Thursday (26) a bill that criminalizes the possession or viewing of sexually explicit deepfake images and videos.
There have been protests in South Korea over Telegram group chats where illegal and sexually explicit deepfakes have been created and widely shared, sparking calls for harsher punishments.
Anyone who buys, keeps or watches such material could face up to three years in prison or be fined up to 30 million won ($22,600), according to the bill.
Currently, making sexually explicit deepfakes with the intention of distributing them is punishable by five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won ($37,900) under the Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act.
When the new law comes into effect, the maximum sentence for such crimes will also increase to seven years, regardless of intent.
The bill will now need President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval to be enacted.
South Korean police have dealt with more than 800 cases of such crimes this year, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.
This compares to 156 for all of 2021, when the data was first collected. Most of the victims and perpetrators are teenagers, police say.
Earlier this month, police launched an investigation into Telegram that will look into whether the encrypted messaging app was complicit in the distribution of sexually explicit deepfake content.
Countries around the world are grappling with how to respond to the proliferation of deepfake material.
The US Congress is debating several pieces of legislation, including one that would allow victims of non-consensual sexual deepfakes to sue, and another that would criminalize the publication of such images and force technology companies to remove them.
Earlier this year, social media platform X blocked users from searching for Taylor Swift after fake sexually explicit images of the pop singer proliferated on social media.
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This content was originally published in South Korea criminalizes watching sexually explicit deepfakes on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
