hankyoreh

In a Telegram channel with around 1,300 members, there are individual chat rooms for 70 colleges and universities across the country. The bolded text are names of universities. (captures from Telegram)

“Does anybody know *** ***-***, born in 2007, from *** High School? Send me a DM if you do.” 

After recent revelations about sexually explicit deepfake images being shared on certain Korean university campuses, the Hankyoreh has uncovered evidence that the illegal practice of creating manipulated images of acquaintances from school or a particular neighborhood and distributing them is occurring rampantly across the web. Those targeted by the deepfakes include students not only at the country’s biggest colleges and universities, but students and minors at middle and high schools as well. 

The Hankyoreh conducted a web search on Aug. 21 scouring various social media platforms, revealing numerous Telegram chat rooms that distribute illegal deepfake pornography categorized according to region of residence and school. The crimes are continuing to expand in breadth while becoming more detailed. 

The process is as follows. A group funnels potential members through a Telegram chat called “friends of friends.” From there, groups are further divided into regions of residence and university. Members then chat with each other about specific girls and women to see if multiple members recognize any of them. They then acquire ordinary photos of their victim from social media and utilize them to illegally produce pornographic deepfakes. 

One Telegram channel has over 1,300 members. This channel hosts various chat rooms that are categorized according to university, with over 70 universities represented. Members post photos of young women they know, along with basic information such as their majors, when they started school, and their names. Other members within the same chat room then chime in if they know the young woman. People who know the person then form their own chat room to produce and share illegal content. Once there are enough deepfakes for a specific person, members will create chat rooms dedicated solely to that individual. The chat rooms are labeled with names like “Degrading Kim ***-***.”

The deepfakes are distributed systematically on a disturbing scale. The sexually explicit illegal images are shared in a chat room over and over, where some members even create emojis out of them “for fun.” The images created in one room quickly spread to other chat rooms. 

One chat room, called “Link Sharing Space,” had over 3,700 members. Members of this chat room share links leading to dedicated chats for deepfakes specific to one person or deepfakes pertaining to students from a specific university. Some chat rooms even have selection processes, where applicants must submit 10 photos of someone they know and pass an interview before being allowed in.

One Telegram channel, dedicated to deepfakes of middle and high-school students, had over 2,340 members. Members of this channel regularly produce and distribute content that lands you at least a year in prison for simply possessing or viewing it. 

The criminals who produce such disturbing deepfakes are widening the breadth of their victims while becoming more detailed in the classification and labeling of their illegal content, adding to mounting fears shared by many women and girls. 

“Although I’ve made my account private, I can’t stop thinking about someone I know using my photos for criminal purposes,” a woman, 24, who normally enjoys using social media platforms told the Hankyoreh.

Another 24-year-old university student, who asked the Hankyoreh to only identify her by her surname, Kim, said, “It’s impossible to know where the photos are being shared, and how far they’ve spread. It’s truly depressing.” 

Since Telegram is an overseas firm with servers outside South Korea, the Korea Communications Standards Commission and other domestic agencies do not have the legal jurisdiction to demand the erasure of content being distributed through its chat rooms. Even if local authorities conduct an investigation, the confiscation and or search-and-seizure warrants they attain have no teeth, making it extremely difficult to identify individual suspects. 

“Deepfakes distributed on Telegram can then spread to other websites, where they are reproduced or altered and redistributed. We therefore need to revise laws like the Telecommunications Business Act to require any overseas platforms with branches in South Korea to cooperate with domestic investigations,” said Min Go-eun, an attorney. 

Critics also point to the lukewarm attitude of investigative authorities and the ineffectiveness of legislation. 

A Telegram channel for “middle and high school friends of friends” with 2,340 members. Once a user verifies their identity, they find common acquaintances and generate deepfakes. (capture from Telegram)

“The most common complaint we hear from victims of deepfakes is that investigators cannot identify specific suspects operating via Telegram, but private actors such as ‘56 Flame’ have identified specific individuals in connection with deepfake crimes,” said Heo Min-sook, who researches legislation for the National Assembly Research Service. 

“Investigators are essentially twiddling their thumbs and not exploring all possible routes of identification,” Heo added. 

“Someone who produces illegal deep fakes with intent to distribute can be sentenced to up to five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won (US$37,453), but the majority of suspects are given probation, or their indictments are delayed,” Heo continued.

“We need to revise legislation to punish not only those who distribute or produce such deepfakes but those who possess or view it as well. The courts also need to realize the severity of such crimes,” she said. 

By Ko Na-rin, staff reporter

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