SEOUL, South Korea — (AP) — South Korea on Wednesday announced a package of steps to curb a surge in deepfake porn, saying it will toughen punishment for offenders, expand the use of undercover officers and impose greater regulations on social media platforms.
Concerns about nonconsensual explicit video contents that were digitally manipulated deepened in South Korea after unconfirmed lists of schools with victims spread online in August. Terrified, many girls and women removed photos and videos from Instagram, Facebook and other social media accounts, while others held rallies calling for stronger steps against deepfake porn.
President Yoon Suk Yeol quickly confirmed the rapid spread of explicit deepfake contents and ordered officials to “root out these digital sexual crimes.” Police are now on a seven-month special crackdown that is to continue until March 2025.
A task force said in a statement that the government has been working with lawmakers on revising laws to increase punishment for perpetrators involved in deepfake porn-related crimes.
It cited a …