The release of Taylor Swift’s pornographic photos made the US government and social network platform developers more acutely aware of the downside of deepfake technology. Fans hope that future legal actions against face spoofing of the “Country Music Princess” will help Kpop stars not face similar problems.

At the end of January, X (Twitter) was filled with pornographic images of Taylor Swift created by artificial intelligence (AI). Bad actors used deepfakes — synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s likeness with another — to impersonate the “Country Music Princess.”

The incident was so serious that X temporarily blocked searches about the singer’s name and related to her, and permanently blocked the term “deepfake”. The social networking platform also warns users not to post nude images without consent. Violations will be punished.

The case of Taylor Swift having pornographic photos created by AI wake everyone up about the harmful effects of deepfake technology. Photo: IG.

Taylor’s influence made it impossible for the US Government to ignore the new problem. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pledged to do everything possible to resolve the issue, and called on social media platforms to have content management solutions.

As for the Safe & Sound singer , although she has not officially spoken, Daily Mail ‘s source said that the beauty born in 1989 is considering taking legal action against defaming her image.

Not only Taylor fans, but also Kpop fans hope that the “king snake” will take specific steps against the deepfake problem. Before the American singer, many Korean idols had been in similar situations but no effective solution had been given to protect them.

Statistical results in 2021 show that 25% of deepfake victims are female Kpop idols. A website specializing in providing deepfake porn openly introduces idols, even ranking them according to their popularity in terms of views.

At that time, a petition with more than 200,000 signatures was sent to the Blue House, but it seemed that the Korean government had no response because the situation of counterfeiting pornographic photos continued. Most of the content is popular on X and “circumvents” censorship by using idol names. For example: Jungkook of BTS becomes BT5 Jungk00k, Jennie of BlackPink becomes J3nn!3 of BL@CKP!NK…

Lisa, Rosé of BlackPink and many other female Kpop idols are victims of deepfake.

In mid-2023, the video about Jungkook and Lisa went viral. In it, the two stars sat next to each other, exchanging glances and Jungkook caressed Lisa’s hand. Another clip shows a series of photos of the duo embracing each other closely. All images are edited with AI but are so realistic that many netizens are confused and believe they are real.

That raises alarm bells about the lack of purity in cyberspace. Even what you see and hear may not be true. People don’t know what to believe. Furthermore, it also shows that the image rights of idols are not guaranteed.

In September 2023, the Korean prosecutor’s office announced that a Korean student studying abroad in the US (in his 30s), known as Mr.A, had created and distributed thousands of pornographic images of Kpop stars. under 18.

From August 2019 to June 2023, A created 2,300 sensitive videos using deepfake technology. A digitally manipulates the faces of idols and other underage celebrities to create adult-like appearances. Although he did not sell the material, A distributed about 5,800 pornographic videos through exclusive members-only chat rooms on Telegram and similar platforms. It was confirmed that at least 50 celebrities were his victims.

Korean police found A’s Telegram chat room in December 2022. Immediately after that, the authorities applied for an arrest warrant, invalidated A’s passport, and requested the cooperation of the US government through Interpol’s red notice system. A was officially arrested in June 2023. The US court rejected the bail application and deported A to Korea not long after. He was handcuffed to Seoul airport on August 22, 2023.

A confessed that he started producing and distributing fake videos after accidentally seeing them on social networks while still in Korea. All criminal acts are only to satisfy personal needs.

Fake photos of Jungkook and Lisa raise concerns about the safety of cyberspace.