Undercover probes of digital sex crimes permitted

South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday passed a revision to permit undercover investigations of digital sex crimes targeting adults, in a move to curb the spread of deepfake sexual images rampant online.

At a plenary session of the 300-member National Assembly, the bill to revise the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes earned 272 votes in favor out of 273 lawmakers present. The bill expands the range of undercover police investigations from those targeting children or juveniles to women of all ages.

A revision of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection also passed the parliament giving law enforcement the authority to request the deletion of deepfake sexual images to the Korea Communications Commission, the top media regulator. The bill obtained 281 votes in favor, of all 281 lawmakers present.