YouTuber Ppeokka Excluded from YouTube Partner Program
Damage Grows Due to Indiscriminate Distribution of Deepfake Sexual Exploitation Content
YouTuber PPKKa, who mocked women deleting their face photos on social networking services (SNS) out of concern for deepfake (AI-based image synthesis) sex crimes as "making a fuss," has been suspended from monetization by YouTube. PPKKa's channel, which has 1.19 million subscribers, was demonetized on the 29th. According to the website 'isthischannelmonetized,' which verifies actual YouTube channel monetization status, PPKKa's channel has been excluded from the YouTube Partner Program. Upon visiting PPKKa's channel, features such as donation payments and members-only video viewing are no longer available.
Earlier on the 26th, Ppeokga caused a controversy by posting a video mocking women who were concerned about deepfake sex crimes, which have recently emerged as a social issue. [Photo by YouTube channel 'Ppeokga']
Earlier, on the 26th, PPKKa sparked controversy by posting a video mocking women concerned about deepfake sex crimes, which have recently emerged as a social issue. Always appearing with his face covered on his YouTube channel, PPKKa presented a post by a woman who said, "Take down all face photos" on SNS, then said, "Posts like this fuss are spreading," and added, "You can see that these people are closely reacting to and participating in such information. I hope you filter them out from now on." Regarding former Democratic Party emergency committee member Park Ji-hyun's call to "declare a disaster situation," he harshly criticized, saying, "She’s out again, stirring up 220,000 people. She’s lighting a fire in her eyes to promote misandry. What kind of national disaster is this? It’s crazy."
After the video was released, comments in various languages appeared in the comment section, saying things like "Is it right to blame the victim instead of the perpetrator?" and "We support Korean women," and reports against the video surged. As the controversy spread, YouTube took measures including suspending PPKKa’s monetization in accordance with its policies and community guidelines.
YouTube regulates content that can lead to personal or social threats. A YouTube representative told Newsis, "YouTube’s community guidelines include clear policies on harassment and cyberbullying. Based on these policies and after careful review, we deleted videos from PPKKa’s channel."
Government Responds as Victim Cases Increase
Recently, as deepfake sexual exploitation materials have been indiscriminately distributed, the damage has increased. According to the '2023 Deepfake Status' report recently released by the U.S. security service company Security Hero, South Korea was selected as the country most vulnerable to deepfake sexual exploitation materials. Analyzing 85 deepfake channels on the top 10 deepfake porn websites, YouTube, Dailymotion, etc., from July to August last year, 53% of the individuals appearing in deepfake sexual exploitation materials were Korean nationals, ranking first. Notably, among the top 10 most used individuals in deepfake sexual exploitation materials worldwide, 8 were Korean singers. The report explains that "99% of deepfake adult videos feature women as the main characters."
Chu Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at an emergency briefing on deepfake sex crimes held at the National Assembly on the 29th. [Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@]
As victim cases continued, the government also took action. On the 29th, the government and the People Power Party held an emergency meeting at the National Assembly regarding responses to deepfake sex crimes and victim support measures. They decided to pursue legislative measures to strengthen the maximum penalty for distributing 'false videos,' currently up to 5 years in prison, to up to 7 years, the same as for 'illegal filming.' They also plan to secure a hotline with the operator of the messenger app Telegram, a major distribution channel.
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