SM, "Criminal charges already filed" regarding malicious AI-generated photos of Yoona

YoonA's Face Used Without Permission in Controversial AI-Generated Photos"We will respond strongly without any leniency or settlement"SM Entertainment has taken action against malicious AI posts that used the face of YoonA, a member of the group Girls' Generation and an actress. The photo shows YoonA attending the 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards held in May. /Reporter Song Ho-young[THE FACT | Reporter Moon Chae-young] SM Entertainment has taken legal action as malicious AI (artificial intelligence) posts targeting YoonA, a member of the group Girls' Generation and an actress, have been spreading indiscriminately.The agency SM Entertainment announced on its official social media on the 28th, "We have confirmed that illegal AI-generated images that arbitrarily synthesize YoonA's portrait and false information based on them are being indiscriminately produced and distributed, primarily through social media and online communities."It added, "We have continuously collected evidence related to illegal posts through fan reports and ongoing monitoring, and based on this, we have already filed criminal charges. We plan to respond strongly without any leniency or settlement."SM Entertainment emphasized, "The act of producing and posting illegal synthesized content using AI technology without the artist's consent, as well as sharing, re-distributing, or spreading such images and posts, may constitute violations of the Information and Communications Network Act for defamation, infringement of portrait rights, and the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes for editing and distributing false video content."It also urged, "We ask that you immediately stop creating and posting illegal synthesized content or unconfirmed false information, or sharing and re-distributing them. We ask for your special attention to avoid being involved in unpleasant incidents due to such actions."Finally, it pledged, "We will continue to monitor and actively respond to related activities to protect the rights and reputation of our artists."Recently, AI-generated photos of YoonA have been circulating on social media and online communities. The issue is that YoonA was depicted as being married to an unidentified man. YoonA's actual social media account was also tagged.YoonA debuted as a member of the group Girls' Generation in 2007 and has since expanded her acting career, receiving much love for her roles in MBC's "Big Mouth," JTBC's "King the Land," and tvN's "The Chef of Tyrant." She is scheduled to appear in the tvN drama "Unnatural" next year.mcy21@tf.co.kr[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]