A Taiwanese YouTuber suspected of creating and selling deepfake porn videos featuring more than 100 politicians and influencers was on Monday released on bail after being arrested the previous day.
Chu Yu-chen (朱玉宸), 26, who uses the name Xiaoyu (小玉) on YouTube, was arrested on Sunday in New Taipei City, along with two suspected accomplices, a 24-year-old YouTuber surnamed Yeh (耶), known as Shaiw Shaiw (笑笑), and a 22-year-old man Chuang (莊).
The three suspects were on Monday escorted to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further questioning on suspicion of distributing obscene videos and publicly insulting others, in contravention of the Criminal Code.
Photo: CNA
A conviction for distributing obscene videos carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison, which can be converted or added to a NT$90,000 (US$3,222) fine, while a public insult conviction could result in a fine of up to NT$9,000.
New Taipei City Deputy Chief Prosecutor Nieh Chung (聶眾) said that while the alleged crimes were serious, it was not necessary to detain the suspects.
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 released on NT$300,000 and NT$50,000 bail respectively on Monday evening.
Yeh was released without bail, Nieh said, without elaborating.
The three are believed to have made more than 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, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
The videos make it seem as if the celebrities themselves are engaging in the sexual acts depicted. They are controversial, as the likenesses of those involved are usually used without their consent, it said.
Deputy Commander of the 4th Investigation Corps Ko Chih-jen (柯志仁) told a CIB briefing on Monday that pornographic videos featuring famous Taiwanese politicians and influencers began circulating online in July last year.
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, a CIB investigation showed.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) voiced her concern about the issue of deepfakes, saying that her administration would evaluate existing regulations and draft relevant amendments.
Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) yesterday told legislators that the ministry has begun drafting related amendments and hoped to submit them to the legislature within a month.
Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷), one of the people whose faces were used in the videos without their consent, said on Facebook on 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 (高嘉瑜), 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.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS