Police investigate deepfake porn at schools nationwide

Police are investigating reports of pornography created through deepfake technology at schools nationwide, including elementary schools.

[AFP/YONHAP]

Police are investigating reports of pornography created through deepfake technology at schools nationwide, including elementary schools.

The names of about 300 schools across the country were posted on a Telegram chatroom for reporting cases of deepfake pornography, and police investigations have begun in Seoul, Incheon and South Jeolla.

The list went viral over the weekend after multiple public accounts on X, formerly Twitter, posted the list of schools originally shared on the Telegram chatroom.

The schools included elementary, middle and high schools and universities where cases of deepfake pornography were alleged.

According to posts on X, participants in several Telegram chatrooms shared photos of not only acquaintances such as classmates and teachers but also relatives like sisters and aunts to create pornography using deepfake technology.

Photos that can be easily obtained through public social media accounts are increasingly used to create deepfake pornography.

Police agencies nationwide are conducting related investigations as the controversy surrounding the case heats up and reports from victims or third parties flood in.

The cybercrime investigation unit of the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency is tracking down two suspects who created and distributed deepfake pornography by synthesizing photos of women published on social media such as Instagram.

Victims who discovered deepfake pornography using their facial photos have also reported it directly to the police.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has also recently received 10 reports of deepfake pornography victims, including elementary, middle and high school students and teachers. Ten juveniles aged 14 or older have been indicted so far.

The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency is also investigating the operator of a Telegram chatroom who shared pornography made by synthesizing female students’ faces in a college student group chatroom.

Although police investigations have not yet begun in Gwangju, some schools in the city are internally looking into rumors about deepfake pornography among their students.

Police say they plan to respond strictly with a zero-tolerance principle.

If caught producing or distributing deepfake pornography, a culprit can be sentenced to up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won ($37,740) under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

If the victim of the crime is a minor, laws under the Juvenile Protection Act apply, so the level of punishment is higher, with sentences jumping to life imprisonment or imprisonment for more than five years.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to provide victim support to delete deepfake pornography detected through systems investigators use to track illegal video content.

“Producing and distributing deepfake pornography is a serious criminal act that can be severely punished,” said an official from the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency. “Possessing or viewing such videos can also be punished.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]