HYBE deepfake crackdown sees eight arrested in South Korea, as company’s CEO pledges ‘zero-tolerance and no-settlement policy’ over alleged crimes against its artists

Eight individuals suspected of creating and distributing deepfake videos of HYBE MUSIC GROUP artists have been arrested by South Korea’s Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency.

Among the eight suspects, six were detained for creating Telegram chats to produce and distribute “false videos”, HYBE said in an official statement on Friday (April 11).

This investigation is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed between HYBE and the NGPPA in Seoul in February, outlining the specific measures to curb the creation and distribution of deepfakes depicting HYBE artists.

The arrests in HYBE’s home market of South Korea arrive amid growing concern in the global music industry over the rise of AI-generated deepfake materials depicting artists and other individuals without their consent.

Just this week, HYBE-owned record label ADOR said that it is taking legal action to protect NewJeans against online harassment including in the form of deepfakes.

Elsewhere in South Korea, the home of K-Pop, other prominent players in the market such as JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and Cube Entertainment recently declared war against deepfakes using images of their artists.

Meanwhile, over in the US, a bipartisan bill aiming to crack down on unauthorized deepfakes – the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act – was reintroduced in the US Congress this week. The bill gained support from the music industry and other creative sectors, and was joined this time by some major tech companies.

A number of prominent music industry figures appeared in Washington to mark the bill’s reintroduction, among them Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl (who testified before the Senate last year on the need to address the deepfake problem), country music star Randy Travis (who notably used AI to clone his own voice for a new song last year, having suffered a stroke years ago that deprived him of the ability to sing).

Others present at the bill’s reintroduction were Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., YouTube Global Head of Artists Vivien Lewit, and Mitch Glazier, CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

HYBE said on Friday that, via its South Korean Police-backed anti-deepfake initiative, the company “provided information on the suspects in a swift manner, which NGPPA then utilized to track down, identify, and successfully arrest the suspects”.

The K-pop giant also said that fans “played a crucial role in the investigation,” particularly through reports sent in via HYBE’s Artist Rights Violation Report Center, a hotline established by the company last September.

“[Fans] proactive reports of defamatory synthetic posts have contributed to identifying criminal activities,” HYBE added in its statement on Friday.

“HYBE will respond firmly to crimes that infringe on our artists’ portrait rights and reputations, based on a zero-tolerance and no-settlement policy.”

Jason Jaesang Lee, HYBE

Jason Jaesang Lee, CEO of HYBE, said: “HYBE will respond firmly to crimes that infringe on our artists’ portrait rights and reputations, based on a zero-tolerance and no-settlement policy.”

Lee also pledged to enhance the company’s ‘artist protection system’ by cooperating with law enforcement agencies: “We will continue to monitor and take legal action to eradicate such serious crimes,” said Lee.

“Deepfake is a serious type of crime that can destroy the daily lives of victims, and crimes targeting public figures are no exception.”

Ho-seung Kim, NGPPA

Promising to track down and arrest deepfake criminals, Ho-seung Kim, District Chief of the NGPPA, said: “Deepfake crimes that exploit the vulnerabilities of celebrities — who often find it difficult to report such offenses themselves — are on the rise.

“Deepfake is a serious type of crime that can destroy the daily lives of victims, and crimes targeting public figures are no exception.”Music Business Worldwide