South Korea permits undercover investigations of digital sex crimes targeting adults

SEOUL - South Korea’s National Assembly on Nov 14 passed a revision to permit undercover investigations of digital sex crimes targeting adults, in a move to curb the spread of deepfake sexual images rampant online.

At a plenary session of the 300-member National Assembly, the Bill to revise the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes earned 272 votes in favor out of 273 lawmakers present.

Currently, undercover investigations are limited to deepfake sex crimes targeting children or teenagers.

The Bill expands the range of undercover police investigations from those targeting children or juveniles to women of all ages. This procedure will require a request from the prosecutor and the court’s approval to ensure the process is legally justified.

A revision of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilisation and Information Protection also passed the parliament giving law enforcement the authority to request the deletion of deepfake sexual images to the Korea Communications Commission, the top media regulator.

The Bill obtained 281 votes in favor, of all 281 lawmakers present.

This marks the first pan-governmental response plan following concerns over the lack of a coordinated strategy by related institutions for tackling deepfake sex crimes in the country.

Under the plan, the government will amend the Telecommunications Business Act to allow platforms with deepfake materials to block such images and videos first before requesting the Korea Communications Commission to review the material. To minimise harm and protect victims, the operating platform will have to remove the illegal content within 24 hours of the broadcasting regulator’s request.

People caught possessing, purchasing, storing or even viewing deepfake porn content will face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won (S$28,710).

A person who creates or edits sexually explicit videos or images and distributes such online can now be punished with up to seven years in prison, compared to the five years under current law. Those without the intent to distribute online can also be punished.

Those exploiting deepfake sex crimes involving minors via blackmail or coercion will be handed a maximum of three and five years in jail, respectively.

The Justice Ministry is pushing to propose amendments to the sexual crimes punishment law to confiscate offenders’ profits gained through deepfake sex crimes. The government added that it would grant leniency to individuals who self-report their participation in deepfake sex crimes.

As deepfake crimes circulate online, domestic and international platform operators considered “intermediaries providing harmful content to minors”, such as Telegram, could potentially be subject to regulation for distributing open channel links to unspecified people that could encourage them to have access to explicit materials.

Corrective orders and fines will be issued against value-added service providers like Naver and Meta if they fail to prevent the distribution of illegally filmed materials and deepfake content, according to the KCC. The regulator noted that in countries like France and the UK, social media companies or online service providers are responsible for managing illegal content on their platforms.

In line with the digital transformation, officials noted that they would use AI technology to detect deepfake content automatically in real-time. Once detected, the system will automatically request that the platform operations delete such content.

Authorities also said they plan to team up with platform operators to respond to removing or blocking deepfake pornographic content and set up additional hotlines to receive reports on illegal activities to safeguard victims. They plan to create a website where victims can report incidents, making it easier for them to access support services.

In addition, the government plans to strengthen cooperation with overseas-based social network platform companies so that they provide subscribers’ personal information in response to official requests from Korean courts and investigative agencies.

Moreover, schools and youth facilities will educate teenagers that creating, sharing or watching sexually explicit materials is a serious crime, while universities will set up various methods -- such as deepfake prevention booths -- to raise awareness.

A total of 781 deepfake victims asked for help from the Advocacy Center for Online Sexual Abuse Victims in the first eight months of this year, and 288 of them were minors, according to the Woman’s Human Rights Institute of Korea. Also, some 387 individuals have been apprehended this year for deepfake sex crimes, according to police in late September. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK