Le Seraphim, Ive... K-pop girl groups targeted for 'deepfake sex crimes', why can't they root them out?

《Yoon Jun-ho's Kindling the Fire》

We delve into issues across the entertainment industry. Let's talk about the causes of controversy and issues, and what the voices of the entertainment industry are.

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Due to deepfakes, a product of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, K-pop girl groups such as groups Le Seraphim and Ive are becoming victims. Artificial intelligence model data, which was learned by stealing member photos, is spreading online and shocking.

According to related industries on the 27th, a lot of data on which users learned images of members of popular K-pop girl groups has been uploaded to CivitAI, a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model sharing site.

The artificial intelligence model is called 'stable diffusion' and generates deepfake images. Deepfake is a compound word of 'deep learning' technology and 'fake'. Because it is based on artificial intelligence technology, it is difficult to distinguish between fake and real. In particular, 'Stable Diffusion' has a feature that ordinary people can use easily on their home PC.

The main victims of deepfake sex crimes are celebrities. This is because pornography produced using their images is in high demand online. This is also why the number of crimes in question continues to rise.

As cases of abuse of the technology increased, such as the production of pornography using images of some idols, the National Assembly previously revised the 'Deepfake Punishment Act'. According to this bill, those who produce and distribute deepfake videos are punished with 'imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won'. Distributing for-profit purposes is subject to aggravated punishment with 'imprisonment for up to 7 years'.

The production of pornography by deepfake has long emerged as a social problem. The level of punishment for the crime is increasing, but questions about practical prevention continue. The biggest problem is that in most cases, the production platform itself is an overseas server, making fundamental detection and punishment difficult.

Last year, the number of false sexual videos submitted by the Korea Communications Standards Commission to the office of Congressman Heo Eun-ah for correction and self-regulation was 548 in 2020, 2988 in 2021, and 2723 in 2022 (as of July), increasing every year. As of 2022, 146 related crimes have been reported. Only about 5% of crimes surfaced. Of these, 63 cases were arrested, which is an insignificant number.

In a situation in the shadow of a crime, entertainment industry officials are having difficulty coping with it. Although they are responding to digital sex crimes with civil and criminal complaints, it is rare that the perpetrators can actually be punished. Mr. A, an industry insider, said, "It is not easy for the agency to legally respond to digital sex crimes. We need real legal action."

In addition, there was an opinion that it was difficult for Enter to deal with the continuing digital sex crimes. Celebrity official B said, “There is a limit to how one agency can respond.

Reporter Yoon Jun-ho, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr