South Korea to Expedite Blocking of Illegal Filming Sites, Pursue International Action

In a significant move to combat the pervasive issue of digital sex crimes, South Korea is implementing stricter measures to protect victims and deter perpetrators. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, in collaboration with the Korea Communications Standards Commission and the National Police Agency, has launched a unified task force dedicated to a more streamlined and effective response. This initiative aims to address the long-standing delays and inefficiencies in tackling the spread of illegal content, particularly non-consensual intimate imagery.

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Websites containing clear evidence of illegal filming will be immediately blocked without deliberation.

A key change is the immediate blocking of websites featuring clear evidence of illegal filming, bypassing the usual deliberation process by the committee. Previously, this process could take up to two weeks, during which harmful content remained accessible, causing further distress to victims. The new approach prioritizes swift action, recognizing the urgent need to remove such material. This is a crucial step, especially considering that over 10,000 pieces of digital sex content were left pending deliberation for months last year due to issues with the committee's quorum.

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If website operators hosted overseas do not comply with the government's removal requests or if websites are blocked, we will pursue civil and criminal penalties through international cooperation.

Furthermore, the government is intensifying its efforts to address illegal content hosted on overseas servers. Recognizing that many perpetrators operate beyond the reach of domestic law, South Korea plans to leverage international cooperation to enforce civil and criminal sanctions against non-compliant website operators. By analyzing data from over 26,000 illegal content distribution sites, the task force will identify repeat offenders and analyze their operational methods and revenue streams. This comprehensive strategy, which includes potential legal action against overseas entities, signals a strong commitment to tackling digital sex crimes at their source and providing meaningful recourse for victims.

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In the United States last year, the 'Deepfake Removal Mandate Act' was passed, allowing for civil and criminal measures if website operators do not delete digital sex crimes within 48 hours. Looking at the 26,000 websites collected by the Central Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center, about 4% are hosted in Korea, so domestic law can be applied, and about 70% are hosted in the US, so we will comprehensively examine what sanctions can be imposed based on US law.