Drag and drop: Deepfakes create a new kind of crime

The ‘Nth room’ case shocked the public earlier this year when details of the inhumane crime was revealed through media reports and investigation results. Although the idea of digital sex crimes wasn’t new, the horrifying atrocities of what had been going on inside the anonymous chat rooms brought the issue to the surface like never before. Among the crimes are some lesser-known forms of digital sex crimes that had gone unnoticed by the public over the years but has come to light with the case. Through this two-part series, the Korea JoongAng Daily looks into the two types of crime that had not been properly addressed before: ‘friend fouling’ and deepfakes.

As technology advances, it’s becoming much easier for people to collage faces onto different photographs with just a few clicks and drags of a mouse. You don’t have to be a Photoshop expert or a tech geek anymore to throw the faces of your friends onto different photographs for a laugh.

But such technological advancement has also cultivated the growth of deepfakes, or digitally manipulated videos, that often become the source of digital sex crimes.

Digital sex crimes are a relatively new type of crime, but even newer are deepfakes, specifically those that manipulate the facial features of a video and replaces it with the face of another person. The technology has existed for years, but only since the recent revelation of digital sex crimes in the darkest corners of the “Nth room” chat rooms has the Korean public become aware of the proliferation of this particular phenomenon, especially when it comes to female celebrities.

The concept of digital sex crimes hit home for Koreans after the Nth room crimes made headlines in March, and in late April a report from the Mapo Police Precinct in western Seoul revealed that a gang of criminals had been producing deepfake pornography with celebrities’ faces and distributing them through an illegal website since 2018. Over a hundred celebrities are said to be featured on the website, which had around 3,000 videos. The police are tracking down the perpetrators, but it may be hard as the website is based on a South American server.

What are deepfakes?

Contrary to “friend fouling,” which usually happens between ordinary — especially younger — people, deepfakes are currently posing a major threat to female celebrities and may possibly become a threat to everyone else as the technology advances in the future due to the requirements of this particular technology.

The term deepfake is a portmanteau of “deep-learning” for artificial intelligence and “fake.” Engineers and programmers birthed primitive forms of deepfake in the late 1990s in which they could change the facial features of a person on video, but the idea as we know it now was conceived in 2017 by a user nicknamed “deepfakes” who began actively uploading videos on Reddit — both pornographic and non-pornographic.

President Barack Obama’s face merged onto Jordan Peele’s face warned of the dangers of deepfake technology. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

President Barack Obama’s face merged onto Jordan Peele’s face warned of the dangers of deepfake technology. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Deepfake videos take the facial features of a person and changes them to those of a different person. It takes three steps: extract, learn and merge. In the first stage of the machine learning process, the program detects the facial features and extracts them from the two faces that will be swapped. Then it learns the details of the two faces, which can take many hours depending on how much material there is. After it has learned which facial expressions correspond to each other and need to be applied, the merging takes place. Right now, deepfakes only change the eyes, nose and mouth, so using two people who have similar features brings out the most natural results.

Right now, it’s actually not difficult to make deepfake videos, thanks to free apps and programs that allow even ordinary people to make them. Cost-free source codes and machine-learning algorithms are abundant online, and the only things you need to make yourself a video are time and materials. With enough photographs and videos for the program to learn from, the facial features and voice can theoretically be replaced by a different person to the point of perfection. A three-minute video containing a person’s face from all angles, with words spoken throughout, can be high enough quality to fool people.

So here, the reason why celebrities’ faces are targeted becomes clear: because politicians and celebrities are the only groups of people who have enough photographs and videos of them on the internet that people can access to create a high-quality deepfake video; and of those two groups of people, celebrities generally attract other people’s attention.

Why are they dangerous?

There’s not much harm to deepfake videos, as long as the technology is used only for fun.

Deepfake videos by Hallyubyte feature girl groups Red Velvet, left, and Twice, right. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Deepfake videos by Hallyubyte feature girl groups Red Velvet, left, and Twice, right. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

For instance, the YouTube channel HallyuBytes puts the faces of K-pop stars onto the faces of actors in popular movies and dramas, which many fans get a laugh from. In one clip, the members of girl groups Red Velvet and Twice look as though they are in the famed gang-fight scene from the movie “Sunny” (2011).

When BuzzFeed uploaded a clip of Barack Obama’s face being acted out by comedian and director Jordan Peele, the comments on the video were about how funny it was and how impressive the technology seemed to be. The clip was actually made to warn people about the dangers of deepfakes and fake news.

The problem is, however, that most deepfakes are far from harmless.

According to a 2019 report by Deeptrace, an Amsterdam-based company dedicated to detecting online synthetic media, 96 percent of online deepfake videos were pornographic in nature, while only 4 percent were content depicting anything other than porn, including politics and humor — in September of last year, when the report was published. Deeptrace counted 14,678 videos on the internet, “an almost 100 percent increase based on our previous measurement (7,964) taken in December 2018” according to the report. But since a vast majority of illegal contents are shared through the dark web, it’s hard to know at what pace it is spreading.

The most shocking finding from the report was that among all the deepfake pornography websites’ posts, 25 percent featured Korean K-pop singers, while 41 percent of videos featured Americans celebrities.

In fact, of the 10 most frequently targeted individuals on deepfake pornography, Korean musicians were listed at No. 2, 3 and 10, though their names were not mentioned. Most deepfake pornography clips were uploaded on websites solely dedicated to making deepfake porn, as opposed to “mainstream” porn sites that offer pornography in general.

Deepfake graphic

Deepfake graphic

“Deepfake pornography is by far the most prevalent kind of deepfake currently being created and circulated. The damaging effects of deepfake pornography have already affected a significant number of women, including celebrities and private individuals,” the report said.

Is it worse in Korea?

While the damage caused by deepfakes are many — spanning from identity theft to the overall decrease in the level of people’s trust in the media — Lee So-eun, a senior researcher at the Korea Press Foundation’s Media Research Center, pointed out that defamation and insult are the two most damaging aspects of deepfake videos, especially for the pornographic deepfakes made using female celebrities’ faces, regardless of whether the viewer believes the situation to be actually true or not.

Websites that specialize in switching K-pop stars' faces with women in pornographic videos using deepfake technology deal with these contents in particular. Famous and popular stars fall victim to these videos, and there is even a "popularity meter" on one of the sites (picture at right).

Websites that specialize in switching K-pop stars’ faces with women in pornographic videos using deepfake technology deal with these contents in particular. Famous and popular stars fall victim to these videos, and there is even a “popularity meter” on one of the sites (picture at right).

“Deepfakes use an existing person and then synthesizes them into a situation or body for the purpose of ‘leisure,’” said Lee. “Deepfakes are problematic not only because they twist the truth and steal other people’s identity, but because they amplify a certain emotional effect. With ‘friend fouling’ or deepfakes, people objectify a person that they have admired and put them in situations that would otherwise be impossible — against their will — and use those videos for their pleasure, which can be quite problematic morally and ethically.”

What aggravates the situation is that since this is a relatively new type of crime and Korean society already has a low level of awareness of digital sex crimes, people aren’t properly aware of the devastating effects that this content can cause.

Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig of the opposition Unified Future Party said that “these videos that were only made for self-satisfaction really shouldn’t go as far as being punished,” and National Court Administration’s Vice Minister Kim In-kyeom said that “some people could make them thinking it’s art.”

In fact, some online have likened deepfake porn to “fan fic,” or “fan fiction” as it is commonly called outside of Korea, based on the fact that the subjects in both are celebrities. Fan fic refers to the fictional stories fans write using the members of their favorite K-pop groups and some have claimed that deepfake pornography isn’t much different. But Lee Taek-gwang, culture critic and professor of global communication at Kyung Hee University, says that the two are nowhere close and comparing the two is ignoring the problems the deepfakes present.

“Fan fic is a genre of popular culture, created by fans,” said Lee. “But deepfakes are created with a clear goal to target a certain person and sell them. It goes beyond the level of private individuals. And whether that goal be sexual or commercial or both, those who make such videos form an online sex industry and make profit by running their ‘business.’”

What has changed?

A revision of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, Etc. of Sex Crimes passed the National Assembly and goes into effect on June 25. According to the new law, those who produce or distribute videos that fabricate, manipulate, edit or copy a person’s face, body or voice against their will can be punished with up to five years in prison or charged a fine of up to 50 million won ($40,500). If the act was done for the purposes of earning money, then the prison sentence can be extended up to seven years.

Until the amendment, deepfake pornography was not dealt with as a sex crime in the eyes of the law and those behind the producing of the content were accused of either breaching the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, Etc. for displaying or distributing “obscene content” or of libel. The amendment does not, however, punish anyone for owning or watching deepfake pornography. And if the video was produced overseas, law enforcement officers have little they can do.

“The amendment only punishes the act of producing and spreading deepfakes,” the Korean Bar Association said in a statement.

“But there are limits to punishing crimes after they occur to eradicate content that sexually exploits victims through online platforms such as Telegram. There needs to be governmental restrictions on internet services both in and outside of Korea and new regulations must be put in place to include the diverse and complicated ways through which digital sex crimes take place.”

According to an entertainment agency home to some celebrities frequently targeted for deepfake pornography, one of the biggest difficulties is that the videos are shared in the deepest corners of the internet and cannot be tracked down easily.

Lee Soo-jung, a forensic psychologist and a professor at Kyonggi University, says that the amendment is just the beginning.

“The amendment is our society’s first official agreement that digital sex crimes need to be punished,” said Lee. “But right now, there aren’t guidelines on how to actually find the criminals. How are the investigations going to catch people if [the content is] based on foreign servers? How are the police going to gather evidence in the first place? They need to go undercover, but not all undercover cases are legally protected in Korea. We need to set up proper guidelines on how to investigate the cases, before talking about what punishments to give them.”

BY YOON SO-YEON   [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]

 

Original post: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/05/17/features/deepfake-artificial-intelligence-pornography/20200517190700189.html

162 comentários em “Drag and drop: Deepfakes create a new kind of crime

  1. Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization?
    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results.
    If you know of any please share. Thanks!

  2. Excellent blog here! Also your web site loads up
    very fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your
    affiliate link to your host? I wish my site loaded
    up as fast as yours lol

  3. I am the co-founder of JustCBD Store label (justcbdstore.com) and I am currently aiming to develop my wholesale side of company. It would be great if anybody at targetdomain is able to provide some guidance . I considered that the best way to accomplish this would be to talk to vape shops and cbd retailers. I was really hoping if someone could suggest a dependable website where I can get CBD Shops B2B Marketing List I am already reviewing creativebeartech.com, theeliquidboutique.co.uk and wowitloveithaveit.com. Not sure which one would be the very best option and would appreciate any support on this. Or would it be simpler for me to scrape my own leads? Ideas?

  4. I’m the manager of JustCBD label (justcbdstore.com) and I’m presently planning to expand my wholesale side of business. I am hoping someone at targetdomain give me some advice . I considered that the very best way to do this would be to talk to vape companies and cbd stores. I was hoping if anyone could suggest a dependable site where I can buy CBD Shops BUSINESS DATA I am presently considering creativebeartech.com, theeliquidboutique.co.uk and wowitloveithaveit.com. Not exactly sure which one would be the very best selection and would appreciate any support on this. Or would it be much simpler for me to scrape my own leads? Ideas?

  5. Hi, i believe that i saw you visited my blog so i came
    to go back the desire?.I’m attempting to to find issues to
    improve my website!I assume its adequate to make use of some of your
    concepts!!

  6. I believe what you published was very reasonable.
    However, what about this? what if you added a little information? I ain’t suggesting your information is not good,
    but what if you added a title that makes people desire more?
    I mean Drag and drop: Deepfakes create a new kind of
    crime – Adolfo Eliazàt – Artificial Intelligence – AI News is a little vanilla.
    You should peek at Yahoo’s front page and see how they create article titles
    to grab people interested. You might add a video or a related picture or two
    to grab readers excited about what you’ve written. In my opinion, it would bring your website a
    little bit more interesting.

  7. An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who was doing a little research on this. And he actually bought me lunch because I stumbled upon it for him… lol. So let me reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanks for spending some time to talk about this subject here on your site.

  8. Nice post. I was checking continuously this blog and I’m impressed!

    Extremely useful info particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information much.
    I was seeking this certain info for a very long time.
    Thank you and good luck.

  9. Spot on with this write-up, I actually believe this site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read more, thanks for the information!

  10. This is the perfect site for anybody who wants to understand this topic. You realize a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject that’s been discussed for many years. Excellent stuff, just excellent!

  11. Unquestionably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the web the easiest thing to be aware of.
    I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people think about worries that they plainly don’t know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out
    the whole thing without having side effect , people can take a signal.
    Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

  12. Just want to say your article is as amazing. The clearness for your put up is simply nice and
    i can think you’re a professional in this subject.
    Fine with your permission allow me to clutch your feed
    to stay up to date with impending post. Thank you one
    million and please keep up the rewarding work.

  13. Magnificent goods from you, man. I have understand your
    stuff previous to and you’re just too wonderful.
    I really like what you’ve acquired here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which you say it.

    You make it entertaining and you still take care of to keep it smart.
    I can not wait to read much more from you. This is really a great website.

  14. It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it’s time
    to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you some interesting things or advice.
    Perhaps you could write next articles referring to this article.
    I wish to read more things about it!

  15. I have to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this website. I really hope to check out the same high-grade content by you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my very own website now 😉

  16. The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it does not disappoint me just as much as this particular one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read through, however I really thought you would have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.

  17. I absolutely love your blog.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you develop this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m hoping to create my own personal site and want to learn where you got this from or what the theme is named. Thanks!

  18. Achieving your fitness goals doesn’t need a certified personal trainer or an expensive gym membership, it’s not hard to exercise at home. It’s easy to go down a training and fitness rabbit hole, however, when you are looking for the best home exercise equipment to outfit your personal home gym.

  19. Hi there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could locate a
    captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one?
    Thanks a lot! 2CSYEon cheap flights

  20. Thanks for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement
    account it. Look complicated to more brought agreeable from
    you! By the way, how could we keep up a correspondence?
    cheap flights 32hvAj4

  21. A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I think that you ought to write more about this subject, it might not be a taboo matter but usually folks don’t discuss these issues. To the next! Best wishes!!

  22. Howdy, I believe your site may be having web browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in I.E., it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, excellent blog!

  23. An interesting discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but typically people do not talk about such topics. To the next! Many thanks!!

  24. Having read this I thought it was extremely enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this short article together. I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!

  25. Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be interesting to read through content from other authors and use something from their web sites.

  26. Next time I read a blog, Hopefully it won’t fail me just as much as this particular one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read, nonetheless I truly thought you’d have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you can fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.

  27. The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it won’t disappoint me just as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read, however I really thought you would probably have something interesting to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something you could possibly fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.

  28. You are so awesome! I do not believe I’ve read through anything like this before. So good to discover somebody with a few unique thoughts on this issue. Really.. many thanks for starting this up. This site is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!

  29. Aw, this was an extremely good post. Finding the time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate a lot and don’t manage to get anything done.

  30. You are so interesting! I don’t believe I have read something like this before. So nice to find someone with some original thoughts on this issue. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This site is something that’s needed on the internet, someone with some originality!

  31. Hi, I do believe your web site could be having internet browser compatibility issues. When I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other than that, excellent blog!

  32. Having read this I believed it was extremely informative. I appreciate you finding the time and energy to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worthwhile!

  33. Having read this I thought it was rather enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself spending way too much time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worth it!

  34. Your style is very unique compared to other people I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just bookmark this blog.

  35. Having read this I thought it was rather enlightening. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this information together. I once again find myself spending a significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!

  36. An intriguing discussion is worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you need to write more on this subject matter, it might not be a taboo subject but typically folks don’t speak about these issues. To the next! Kind regards!!

  37. A fascinating discussion is worth comment. I do think that you ought to write more on this subject, it may not be a taboo subject but typically people do not discuss these issues. To the next! Kind regards!!

  38. After looking over a number of the blog posts on your web site, I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back in the near future. Take a look at my web site as well and tell me how you feel.

  39. I was very happy to uncover this great site. I wanted to thank you for ones time just for this fantastic read!! I definitely savored every little bit of it and i also have you saved to fav to check out new stuff on your site.

  40. After I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment. There has to be a way you are able to remove me from that service? Cheers!

  41. Can I simply just say what a comfort to uncover someone that truly understands what they’re talking about on the net. You actually understand how to bring an issue to light and make it important. More people should read this and understand this side of your story. I was surprised that you are not more popular since you certainly have the gift.

  42. You are so cool! I do not suppose I have read through a single thing like that before. So great to find another person with original thoughts on this issue. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that’s needed on the web, someone with some originality!

  43. Hi! I could have sworn I’ve visited your blog before but after browsing through a few of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m certainly happy I discovered it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently!

  44. I’d like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this website. I really hope to view the same high-grade content from you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my very own site now 😉

  45. The very next time I read a blog, Hopefully it does not disappoint me just as much as this one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read through, however I genuinely thought you would have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.

  46. Excellent web site you’ve got here.. It’s difficult to find high quality writing like yours these days. I truly appreciate people like you! Take care!!

  47. I really love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you develop this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my own website and would love to learn where you got this from or what the theme is called. Cheers!

  48. I really love your website.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you develop this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my very own site and want to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Thank you!

  49. May I just say what a comfort to discover somebody who truly understands what they’re talking about on the internet. You definitely know how to bring a problem to light and make it important. More and more people have to check this out and understand this side of the story. I was surprised that you’re not more popular given that you certainly have the gift.

  50. I truly love your blog.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you build this site yourself? Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my own personal site and would like to know where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Appreciate it!

  51. I want to to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve got you bookmarked to check out new things you post…

  52. I’m more than happy to discover this website. I wanted to thank you for ones time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely loved every little bit of it and I have you book-marked to check out new things in your website.

  53. I truly love your blog.. Great colors & theme. Did you make this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my very own site and would love to know where you got this from or what the theme is named. Cheers!

  54. Hi, I do think this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I am going to come back yet again since i have saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.

  55. An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. There’s no doubt that that you need to publish more about this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally folks don’t speak about these subjects. To the next! Many thanks!!

  56. I’m extremely pleased to discover this page. I need to to thank you for your time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely savored every bit of it and i also have you bookmarked to see new stuff in your website.

  57. Howdy! I simply would like to give you a big thumbs up for your excellent info you’ve got here on this post. I am returning to your website for more soon.

  58. After I originally left a comment I appear to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service? Kudos!

  59. After I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. There has to be an easy method you can remove me from that service? Appreciate it!

  60. I seriously love your site.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my own website and would love to find out where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Many thanks!

  61. Howdy, There’s no doubt that your blog could be having web browser compatibility issues. When I take a look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it’s got some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Besides that, fantastic site!

  62. After exploring a number of the blog articles on your blog, I seriously like your technique of blogging. I book-marked it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Please visit my website too and tell me your opinion.

  63. I truly love your site.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you develop this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m hoping to create my own site and would love to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Thanks!

  64. When I originally commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on every time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Appreciate it!

  65. Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It’s always interesting to read through content from other authors and use something from other websites.

  66. When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I receive four emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Cheers!

  67. I just want to tell you that I’m newbie to weblog and honestly enjoyed this web blog. Probably I’m planning to bookmark your website . You definitely have awesome posts. Kudos for sharing with us your blog.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *