Science and ICT Committee Deepfake Sexual Crime Eradication Forum
The National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee held a policy forum on the afternoon of the 5th in the committee's main meeting room titled "How to Eradicate Deepfake Sexual Crime Videos." Amidst partisan conflicts over contentious bills, this forum brought together lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties who shared a common concern about the seriousness of deepfake crimes and the need to devise countermeasures.
Choi Min-hee, chairperson of the committee, stated, "A shocking survey revealed that about 53% of victims of deepfake pornography worldwide are Korean," adding, "We must all be vigilant that anyone can become a victim of deepfake technology, and the ruling and opposition parties will join forces to establish measures to eradicate illegal deepfake videos."
Choi Hyung-doo, the People Power Party's secretary-general who played a leading role in organizing the forum, emphasized, "Deepfake victims span all ages and genders, with cases rapidly spreading especially among teenagers," and pledged, "Through this forum, we will do our utmost to ensure that our citizens are not exposed to crimes or have their human rights violated." Kim Hyun of the Democratic Party also said, "We will cooperate across party lines to protect citizens from deepfake crimes and create a safer digital environment."
Chairperson Choi Min-hee of the National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee is striking the gavel at the 5th plenary session of the committee held at the National Assembly on the 25th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
On the same day, Professor Kim Myung-joo from the Department of Information Security at Seoul Women's University explained the "Dual Nature of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Need for Safety Regulations." Following this, Professor Lee So-eun from the Department of Media Communication at National Pukyong National University presented on the "Current Status and Response Strategies for Deepfake Sexual Crime Videos." The discussion panel included Choi Jin-eung, legislative researcher of the Science, Broadcasting and Communications Team at the National Assembly Legislative Research Office; Heo Wook, Vice President of Meta Korea; Shin Young-gyu, Director of the Broadcasting and Communications User Policy Bureau at the Korea Communications Commission; Lee Dong-soo, Director of the Digital Sexual Crime Deliberation Bureau at the Korea Communications Standards Commission; and Lee Kyung-hwa, Chairperson of the Parents' Information Monitoring Group.
The experts emphasized the need not only to strengthen penalties for digital sexual crimes but also to raise awareness about sexual crimes involving deepfake videos. Professor Kim Myung-joo, who delivered a presentation, stated, "Punishments should be expanded to include not only filming but also copying, possession, and viewing." Professor Lee So-eun stressed the urgency of education, saying, "It is urgent to inform why this constitutes a sexual crime, why such activities are prohibited, and why this is not merely a simple game."
Meanwhile, according to data submitted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-hee, from 2020 to June of this year, the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center under the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute received 938,651 requests for deletion of illegal footage such as deepfake and sexually insulting images. Of these, about 29%, or 270,000 cases, were not deleted.
To curb the spread of deepfake (illegal synthetic) sexual crimes, which have emerged as a social issue, both ruling and opposition parties are accelerating the preparation of related laws. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Dal-hee has introduced a bill to establish a punishment provision imposing a minimum of five years' imprisonment for those who threaten others using child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials. Sexual exploitation materials targeting children and adolescents are considered more heinous than those targeting adults, but until now, only punishments under the "Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes" were applicable.
There is also a bill to punish those who watch deepfake sexual crime videos. Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Yong-min and Hwang Myung-sun have each introduced bills that impose up to three years imprisonment or fines up to 30 million won on not only producers and distributors of deepfake sexual crime videos but also those who possess, purchase, store, or watch them. Until now, there were no regulations to punish the purchase, possession, viewing, storage, or sale of videos produced using deepfake technology, so these bills aim to legally penalize such acts. Lawmaker Kim emphasized, "The pain experienced by victims due to illegal synthetic materials is no different from that caused by illegal filming against the victim's will."
Post-crime measures such as video deletion for victims are also being prepared. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Soo-jin has proposed security measures to preserve information about distributors and cooperate with investigations when requested by investigative agencies to prevent mass distribution of illegal videos via platforms like Telegram. People Power Party lawmaker Lee In-seon has introduced a bill to establish a Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center to enable the government to delete deepfake victim videos, and Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min has also proposed that information and communication service providers immediately take action against deepfake false videos at the same level as illegal filming materials.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
