A male Taiwanese Youtuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake porn videos featuring over 100 famous politicians and influencers was released on bail on Monday after being arrested the previous day.
Chu Yu-chen (???), 26, who goes by the moniker Xiaoyu (??) on Youtube, was arrested Sunday at a rental in New Taipei, along with two suspected accomplices, a 24-year-old female Youtuber surnamed Yeh (?) who goes by Shaiw Shaiw (??) and a 22-year-old man surnamed Chuang (?).
On Monday, the three suspects were escorted to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further questioning on suspicion of distributing obscene videos and publicly insulting others, which would violate Taiwan’s Criminal Code.
A conviction for distributing obscene videos carries a maximum sentence of two years, which can be converted or added to a NT$90,000 (US$3,191) fine, while a public insult conviction could result in a fine of up to NT$9,000.
Deputy Chief Prosecutor Nieh Chung (??) told CNA that while the potential crimes were serious, it was not necessary to detain the suspects, without elaborating.
He said the office originally set Chu’s bail at NT$500,000 and Chuang’s at NT$100,000, but because their assets were frozen, they were later released on NT$300,000 and NT$50,000 bail, respectively, on Monday evening.
Yeh was released without bail, Nieh said, without explaining why.
According to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), the three are believed to have made over NT$11 million over the past year by creating and distributing the videos, which were made by superimposing people’s faces onto existing pornographic videos using deep learning technology, a type of AI.
The videos make it seem as if the celebrities themselves are engaging in the sexual acts depicted. They are controversial, as the likeness of those involved are usually used without their consent.
At a CIB press briefing Monday held to announce the arrests, Deputy Commander of the 4th Investigation Corps Ko Chih-jen (???) said police found that pornographic videos featuring famous Taiwanese politicians and influencers began circulating online in July 2020.
They traced the videos back to a Twitter page, on which the suspects recruited new customers. People interested in the videos had to pay between NT$400 and NT$1,900 to join a Telegram group where the videos were being shared, or obtain an online link to watch the videos.
People who paid to join the groups could also vote on which celebrity they wanted to see in the videos, Ko said.
According to the CIB’s investigation, Chu operated the social media pages and was in charge of editing the videos, Chuang looked for video materials that could be used, and Yeh dealt with the finances.
The CIB estimated that the three made over NT$11 million by selling the videos to over 8,000 people. When they were arrested, police found and confiscated NT$4.58 million in cash, passbooks, computers, phones, hard drives, and a car.
Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (??), one of the people whose faces were used in the videos without their consent, said in a Facebook post Monday that she had filed legal proceedings against the suspects.
She said nine other victims, all of whom are female video game streamers, had messaged her about the videos and said they would also be pressing charges.
Huang said she felt disgusted and afraid when she saw the videos herself, and indicated that the videos had caused real harm and humiliation to the victims.
Legislator Kao Chia-yu (???), whose face was also used without her consent in the videos, said on Facebook that she would pursue legislation that specifically targets deepfakes, as Taiwan’s existing laws are inadequate to deal with the issue.
President Tsai Ing-wen (???) also voiced her concern on the issue of deepfakes Monday, saying that her administration would be evaluating existing regulations and draft relevant amendments.
Justice Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang (???) told legislators Tuesday that his ministry has begun to draft amendments to existing laws and hoped to submit them to the Legislature within a month.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel