According to reports on April 11, KST, authorities have arrested eight suspects on charges of producing and disseminating deepfake videos of HYBE artists.
The arrest happened through a joint investigation between HYBE and the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency to crack down on synthetic media crimes targeting public figures. This investigation was made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between HYBE and the police in February, which led to the opening of a dedicated hotline and a cooperation system between the two entities to deal with deepfake-related crimes quickly.
According to the authorities, six of the arrested individuals were operating chatrooms on Telegram, where they distributed the illicit content they created using the faces of HYBE artists.
Critical digital evidence supplied to law enforcement by HYBE made the arrests possible, enabling them to track and apprehend the perpetrators. HYBE’s internal reporting platform, the HYBE Artist Rights Protection Report Center, launched in September 2024, played a significant role in this. Fan0-submitted reports of deepfake content also helped build the case against the culprits.
Meanwhile, deepfake-related crimes have become a pressing issue for K-Pop idols at an alarming rate in the past few years. Read about it in more detail here:
200+ Female Idols Found In Deepfake Porn, Netizens Disgusted