South Korea has passed a bill criminalising possessing or watching sexually explicit deepfake content with a provision of imprisonment for violation.
The law was passed on Thursday in the wake of several local media reports revealing a spate of sexual deepfake images of South Korean women -- most of them teenagers -- dominating Telegram chat rooms.
According to the law, anyone purchasing, saving or watching such material could face up to three years in jail or be fined up to 30 million won ($22,600), reported Reuters.
At present, making explicit deepfakes with the intention of distribution is punishable by five years imprisonment or a fine of 50 million won under the Sexual Violence Prevention and Victims Protection Act in the country.
When the new law takes effect, the maximum sentence for such crimes will also increase to seven years regardless of the intention.
The bill now awaits approval of President Yoon Suk Yeol in order to be enacted.
South Korea is reportedly the country with highest deepfake related crimes, with local authorities claiming they dealt with 800 such cases, as against 56 in 2021, so far this year.
The messaging app Telegram, which is at the heart of the controversy, received a blow in August when one of its founders Pavel Durov was arrested by the French authorities, ostensibly over the app's moderation policies.
Though Durov was released later in the month, he remains under supervision and cannot leave France.
Telegram is being investigated also by Indian authorities over its alleged use in allowing extortion and gambling.
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