Pledged to Remove Election 'Deepfakes'… 32% Remain Undeleted

[Anchor]

Using AI technology to create "deepfake" videos and utilizing them during elections is illegal. While the National Election Commission (NEC) has been requesting their removal, it has been found that 32% of problematic videos from the June 3 local elections still have not been deleted.

Park Chan-beom reports for Morning Zoom-in.

[Reporter]

["Candidate Choo, please revive Daegu's economy."]

["Understood, I will definitely do so."]

["We should also get to meet the Princess of Daegu sometime..."]

This is a video circulated by someone during the June 3 local elections.

Images of former President Park Geun-hye and Daegu mayoral candidates at the time reel off words that were never actually spoken.

It is a fake video made with AI.

["What you say is truly remarkable."]

["Could that 'remarkable' be my 'Sintong'?"]

["No, I am 'Cheokcheok'."]

This, too, is fake.

Under the Public Official Election Act, no one may produce or publish images or videos created using artificial intelligence technology for election campaigns beginning 90 days prior to election day.

The National Election Commission requested the relevant platforms to delete "election deepfake posts," but there are numerous instances where they still have not been taken down.

According to NEC data, as of the end of August, the deletion rate stood at 75% for the 2024 general election and 77.1% for last year's presidential election, while it reached only 68.3% for the June 3 local elections.

A lack of cooperation from foreign platforms is cited as the reason why 32% remain undeleted.

Looking at the deletion rates by platform for the June 3 local elections, Naver, Daum, and others stood at 100%, but among foreign platforms, Google remained at 69.8% and Meta at 65.3%.

The NEC also drew up a plan to secure a budget of 3.5 billion won to establish detection programs, but critics point out that guidance to ensure deletions must come first.

[Jin Jong-oh / Member of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee (People Power Party): "The NEC should not only detect and search, but also establish countermeasures so that actual deletions can take place in coordination with foreign platforms."]

The NEC explained to SBS, "Domestic laws do not apply to foreign corporations, and the criteria for determining illegal posts also differ from domestic standards," while Google and Meta did not provide a statement.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing by Nam Il | Design by Park Taeyoung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.