Deepfake Sexual Abuse Material on the Rise... "Surpasses Last Year's Review Total in Just Eight Months"

17,378 cases from January to August this year
9.9% higher than last year's full-year total

The number of reviews of deepfake sexual abuse material has surged this year, surpassing 17,000 in just eight months.

As reviews continue to focus on overseas illegal and pornographic websites, observers say effective measures are needed to prevent the distribution of deepfake sexual abuse material and the spread of harm.

Data submitted by the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee to the office of Lee Yeonhee, a Democratic Party of Korea member of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, showed that 17,378 cases of deepfake sexual abuse material were reviewed from January through August this year. That was 1,570 cases, or about 9.9%, more than the 15,808 cases reviewed over the whole of last year.

Deepfake sexual abuse is a crime involving the editing or synthesizing of images or videos of a person's face or body, or recordings of their voice, without their consent, in a form that could cause sexual desire or humiliation, and then distributing or possessing the material. The annual number of reviews of deepfake sexual abuse material has risen steadily, from 1,913 cases in 2021 to 3,574 in 2022 and 7,187 in 2023. It then surged to 23,109 cases in 2024 before falling to 15,808 last year. This year, however, the number has already exceeded last year's full-year total in just eight months.

Deepfake sexual abuse material is increasing rapidly.

By platform, the "other" category, which includes overseas illegal and pornographic websites and peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing sites, accounted for 17,116 cases (98.5%). X (formerly Twitter) accounted for 138 cases, and Telegram for 124.

At a parliamentary audit on October 12, Go Gwangheon, chair of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Review Committee, said the committee would work to prevent harm from spreading through illegal recordings and deepfake sexual abuse videos, and to improve the effectiveness of removing or blocking illegal content distributed through overseas platforms.

Rep. Lee said, "As the number of reviews of deepfake sexual abuse material has surpassed last year's full-year total, we need to closely examine the current situation and response systems. Effective measures are needed to prevent the spread of harm and protect victims."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.