A man in his 40s who produced and possessed 360 images of child sexual exploitation using an artificial intelligence (AI) image generation program has been brought to trial.
This is the first case of being prosecuted for producing child sexual exploitation pornography using AI image generation technology.
Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 1st that on the 25th, Mr. A was sent to the prosecution under arrest on charges of producing child sexual exploitation materials, distributing illegal recordings for profit, and possessing illegal recordings.
Hard disk, laptop, mobile phone, and NAS server seized by the police from Mr. A. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]
According to the police, in April, Mr. A used an AI image generation program on his laptop by inputting commands such as "10 years old" and "naked" to produce child sexual exploitation videos.
Mr. A produced a total of 360 videos, all of which were seized by the police before distribution.
He stated, "I had no intention to distribute them," and "I thought that possessing virtual images created using an AI program was not subject to punishment."
Separately from this case, Mr. A is also charged with producing illegal adult videos featuring real people.
The police explained that even if the virtual characters are created using AI image generation programs, producing sexually explicit materials that can be clearly recognized as children can be punished under the charge of "producing child sexual exploitation materials."
A police official said, "We expect similar cases to continue occurring," and “we plan to strongly crack down on similar cases in line with the nationwide intensive cyber sexual violence crackdown scheduled until October.”
According to Article 11 of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, producing child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials can be punished by life imprisonment or imprisonment for five years or more.
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