South Koreans protest 'Deepfake' sexual crimes: Video
Hundreds of South Korean women on Thursday, August 29 flooded the streets of Seoul to demonstrate against a spate of digital sex crimes.
Lee Kyung-hee, a protest participant told AFP "When I saw the deepfake sexual crimes at the level of a national disaster, I felt so sad and angry thinking about the feelings of the victims, whose names and faces I don't even know. I was so angry at the society that created this situation that I couldn't stand it."
In recent years, South Korea has faced a growing crisis of digital sex crimes, particularly involving 'deepfake' technology.
This technology, which uses artificial intelligence to create realistic but fake videos and images has been misused to make explicit photos and videos of women without their consent.
According to recent reports, South Korea is the country most targeted by deepfake pornography, with its singers and actresses constituting 53% of the individuals featured in such deepfakes.
In response to the public outcry, the South Korean government has pledged to take stronger action against digital sex crimes. This includes tougher laws to criminalize the creation, distribution, and viewing of sexually exploitative deepfakes.
The government has also increased the number of regulatory personnel monitoring such crimes and established a 24-hour hotline for victims
