Women-led digital sleuths in South Korea race to remove AI deepfake porn

About this record

This incident page is generated from structured reporting inputs and public sources. It is intended to support tracking and review, not to replace primary source verification.

Incident details

Incident ID: inc_2026_08_05_e73cc810
Date source: article_published_at_fallback
Country: South Korea
Platform: Messaging App
Incident type: Non Consensual Synthetic Image
Verification level: reported_but_unverified

Harm types

Non Consensual Imagery Harassment Reputational Harm

Topics

Deepfake Synthetic Image Image Manipulation Digital Identity Abuse Authenticity Harm

Summary

A government-run National Center for Digital Sexual Crime Response in Seoul, staffed by 23 women, searches the web and files removal requests to take down illegal sexual imagery. The centre reported removing 318,000 videos and photos last year — including AI-generated deepfakes, spycam footage and intimate images shared without consent — on behalf of 10,600 people, about 75% of whom were women and girls.

The centre provides counselling, legal advice and evidence collection for prosecutions and uses in-house AI monitoring tools. The reporting notes deepfake pornography is illegal in South Korea, penalties were increased in 2024, and some victims reported deepfakes being shared in 2024 on encrypted messaging apps beyond the centre’s reach.

Sources

Women-led digital sleuths in South Korea race to remove AI deepfake porn | Joburg ETC

joburgetc.com · 2026-08-05 · Primary