Seoul’s bid to curb deepfakes may have scant impact

Significance

Two days later, the platform apologised, having ignored Seoul’s concerns for years. With digital sex crimes proliferating fast, many involving minors as victim and/or perpetrator, President Yoon Suk-yeol has instructed authorities to “thoroughly investigate and eradicate” these threats.

Impacts

• Failure to act decisively to protect women could deepen South Korea's demographic crisis, caused mainly by the world's lowest birth rate.
• The weaponisation of misogyny to win elections will reinforce negative sentiments among some young men, fuelling harmful behaviour.
• South Korea's deepfake probe could push Telegram to increase its cooperation with law enforcement agencies and enhance content moderation.