Deepfakes Spread Across the Globe… Ruling and Opposition Parties Belatedly Legislate to Crack Down

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As crimes exploiting ‘deepfake (AI-based image synthesis)’ technology spread across the board targeting college students, female soldiers, and teenagers via Telegram and other platforms, the government and the political circles belatedly stepped forward to prepare preventive laws and measures. The relevant standing committees that handle related bills, the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee and the Gender Equality and Family Committee of the National Assembly, had been sitting on their hands until deepfake crimes began to permeate our daily lives and spread, and they hurriedly began discussing them. As the nature of deepfake crimes has recently become more serious, the political circles that had been sitting on the back foot have begun to take action.

President Yoon Seok-yeol speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office building in Yongsan, Seoul on August 27. (provided by the presidential office) 2024.8.27

President Yoon Seok-yeol said at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House in Yongsan on the 27th, “Recently, deepfake videos targeting unspecified numbers of people have been rapidly spreading through social media,” and “I urge the relevant authorities to root out these digital sex crimes through thorough investigations and ascertainment of the actual situation.” Accordingly, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency decided to conduct a ‘special intensive crackdown on deepfake sex crimes’ for seven months starting on the 28th, and the Korea Communications Standards Commission also decided to come up with countermeasures.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon said on the day, “The deficiencies in systems and policies to prevent the side effects of artificial intelligence (AI) must be quickly supplemented,” and “I will take the lead in establishing measures to eradicate digital sex crimes.”

The government and the ruling party are reportedly planning to hold a related party-government consultation on the 29th. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, also said, “Prepare measures to eradicate deepfake crimes,” and urged, “Develop measures to protect victims and strong punishment regulations for those who produce and distribute deepfakes.”

Deep fake: A combination of deep learning and fake. Using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to combine a person’s face into another photo or video to make it look real.

Choi Min-hee, Chairwoman of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, is presiding over the 8th plenary session of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. 2024.08.27. [서울=뉴시스]

Although the ruling and opposition parties belatedly recognized the seriousness of deepfake crimes and began to legislate, it was found that there was no proper discussion on related bills in the 22nd National Assembly. In particular, criticism has been raised that the discussion was insufficient as the relevant standing committee, the National Assembly Science and Technology Committee, was engrossed in the issue of the Korea Communications Commission surrounding the appointment of public broadcasting board members.

The National Assembly Defense Committee held its first plenary session of the 22nd National Assembly on June 11, but the ruling party boycotted the standing committee in protest of the National Assembly’s operation method, causing chaos from the start. Up until the plenary session that received the business report on the 26th, 18 plenary sessions were held, but only a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties regarding broadcasting continued, including the hearing of the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, the forced passage of the “4 Broadcasting Laws,” and the appointment of the board of directors of the Korea Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association (KBCA).

While the ruling and opposition parties are engrossed in political strife, seven AI-related bills proposed by the 22nd National Assembly and other bills related to preventing deepfake crimes, such as the Information and Communications Network Act amendment, are pending in the National Intelligence Service. These bills include AI safety measures to prevent deepfake confusion, such as requiring AI products to have a so-called “watermark” to indicate that they are virtual information.

The amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act, which requires mandatory display of a “watermark” on virtual sounds, images, and videos created using AI technology, proposed by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seung-soo in the 21st National Assembly, expired and was scrapped. It was reintroduced in the 22nd National Assembly, but was only put on the agenda of the standing committee at the plenary session the day before. People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo proposed the “Act on Fostering the Artificial Intelligence Industry and Securing Trust” in late May this year, which focuses on defining AI and protecting the lives and bodies of the people from potential risks related to it, but there has been no progress in discussions since it was referred to a subcommittee last month.

On this day, at the plenary session of the Science and Technology Defense Committee, the ruling and opposition parties focused on their dispute over the court’s decision to suspend the appointment of new director Bang Moon-jin. Only Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party questioned Kang Do-hyun, 2nd Vice Minister of Science and ICT, about preventing the exploitation of deepfakes. A Science and Technology Defense Committee official criticized, “The ruling and opposition parties have postponed discussions on ‘science and technology communication’ and have been preoccupied with ‘broadcasting politics’ such as the Korea Communications Commission, so there has been no progress at all in discussions on AI, which is necessary for people’s livelihoods.”

The National Assembly’s Women’s Affairs Committee has also hurriedly responded. The committee plans to hold its first urgent inquiry into deepfake crimes on the 4th of next month to review the current situation and prepare government-wide measures. On this day, the National Assembly’s Women’s Affairs and Family Committee members announced, “We will further strengthen the legal system to prevent the misuse of deepfake technology.”

Reporter Lee Sang-heon [email protected]
Reporter Kwon Gu-yong [email protected]
Reporter Seungwoo Lee [email protected]

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2024-08-27 16:19:25