"8 out of 10 Major Victims Are K-Pop Singers"
"Resolutely Responding Without Standing By Until the End"
As the war to eradicate 'deepfake sexual exploitation materials' has been declared, the music industry has also taken up arms against illegal synthetic content targeting K-pop stars.
On the 30th, JYP Entertainment, the agency of TWICE, stated through the TWICE fan community, "We are taking very seriously the recent spread of deepfake (AI-based synthetic) videos targeting our artists," adding, "This is a clear illegal act, and we are currently collecting all related materials and working with a specialized law firm to take strong legal action without leniency." They warned, "We will never tolerate any acts that infringe on our artists' rights and will respond firmly until the end."
Singer Kwon Eunbi also recently filed a criminal complaint against those who distributed synthetic obscene photos targeting her. Her agency, Woollim Entertainment, stated, "We have already announced the mental damage suffered by the artist due to serious defamation acts such as sexual harassment, personal attacks, spreading false information, and invasion of privacy against Kwon Eunbi," adding, "(Including this) we have compiled numerous posts related to the crime of distributing fabricated obscene photos by synthesizing the artist's image and submitted the first complaint, and the police investigation is underway." They also informed, "Based on the collected evidence, we will continue to take strong criminal legal measures without leniency."
Earlier, the American media outlet The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) cited a local security company's '2023 Deepfake Status' report on the 28th (local time), expressing concern that "8 out of 10 major victims of deepfake pornography are K-pop singers," and warned that "South Korea is the most targeted country for deepfake pornography." They noted, "The detection of a Telegram-based network generating and distributing fake pornography suggests that South Korea is the epicenter of this global issue."
The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), which announced the 'Comprehensive Measures for Deepfake Sexual Crime Videos for Teenagers,' sent an urgent cooperation request on the 29th to French authorities investigating Telegram CEO Pavel Durov to eradicate the distribution of illegal deepfake videos and images. Additionally, in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government, they launched a service linking major portal sites such as Naver and Kakao with a 'Deepfake Sexual Crime Video Reporting' page.
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