American streamer Johnny Somali might soon trade his streaming setup for a prison cell. The notorious content creator is facing up to seven years behind bars in South Korea for allegedly using AI to create a deepfake video featuring a Korean woman without her consent.
Somali’s latest stunt involves crafting a video that falsely portrayed the woman as his girlfriend. This digital deception got him in trouble with South Korean authorities, who are cracking down hard on AI misuse and deepfake pornography.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Somali. South Korea recently tightened its laws on AI abuses following national scandals involving non-consensual, AI-generated media. The country is dead set on making an example of offenders, and Somali might just become their poster boy for what not to do with AI.
This isn’t Somali’s first rodeo with Asian authorities. Japan already showed him the door, slapping him with a hefty fine and a lifetime ban for his repulsive content.
If convicted, Somali might find himself longing for the days when his biggest worry was crafting clickbait content. South Korea’s hard stance against AI misuse stems from painful experience. The country is still reeling from the infamous Nth Room case, a massive cybersex trafficking scandal that exposed the dark underbelly of digital content abuse.
Somali’s case could set a precedent for how countries deal with AI-related offenses in the future. It’s a stark reminder that on-screen behavior can lead to very real consequences.
