According to the “2023 Deepfake Status Report”released by cybersecurity firm Security Hero, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on August 28 that South Korea is the country most at risk for deepfake sexual crimes.
The study examined a total of 95,820 videos from ten websites featuring deepfake pornography, as well as 85 channels on popular video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion. The data was collected between July and August of the previous year.
The study revealed that a majority of the individuals depicted in deepfake pornography, specifically 53%, were South Korean singers and actors.
Out of all the deepfake victims, Americans made up 20% of the total, making them the second-largest group affected. They were followed by Japan at 10%, the UK at 6%, China at 3%, India at 2%, Taiwan at 2%, and Israel at 1%.
The report highlighted that deepfake pornography is most frequently directed towards South Korea.
The report identified the top 10 celebrities who were targeted the most by deepfake pornography, with eight of them being South Korean singers. South Korean singers claimed the 1st to 7th and 9th positions, while a Thai singer and a British actor took the 8th and 10th spots respectively.
Out of all South Korean singers, the one who was most frequently featured in deepfake sexual exploitation videos was seen in a total of 1,595 videos, accumulating 5.61 million views. Another South Korean singer was also targeted, appearing in 1,238 videos and accumulating 3.865 million views.
It has been found that, on average, women make up 99% of victims of deepfake pornography, with 94% of them being affiliated with the entertainment industry.
According to WSJ, even teenagers are involved in the creation of deepfake pornography, prompting the South Korean Ministry of Education to consider imposing maximum penalties on offenders as young as 10 years old.
The primary source for the widespread distribution of deepfake pornography is through Telegram, a messaging app founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov. Following his arrest at an airport near Paris, French prosecutors charged Durov with aiding in the distribution of child pornography and other offenses.
Since April of this year, Telegram has been sharing ad revenue with creators of group chats that have over 1,000 members. This initiative was implemented as a way to support the creators and motivate them to continue growing their group chats, which can accommodate up to 200,000 users. Additionally, the initial version of Durov’s cryptocurrency, “Toncoin”(TON), was utilized to compensate these creators, with the profits being evenly distributed between them and Telegram.
Despite stating that it has removed content related to child sexual exploitation and criminal information, Telegram’s team of approximately 50 employees was probably not enough to handle the numerous violations. The messaging app is popular in former Soviet countries and Iran, but it has been banned in 31 nations either temporarily or permanently. It is projected to reach 1 billion users by next year.
The source of this information can be found on Naver, at https://n.news.naver.com/article/081/0003476155?ntype=RANKING.
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