Pictures from Instagram transformed into pornographic images. Over 20 students, victims in Hong Kong
A law student in Hong Kong found that a colleague has made fake pornographic images with her and about 20 students, using their Instagram photos.
Hong Kong students, victims of fake photo pornographic images: Shutterstock
“At first I was shocked, then I panicked“, The 20 -year -old told AFP, confessing that the incident will leave her deep traces.
Last month, hundreds of obscene images generated with artificial intelligence, depicting the face of some students, were found on the computer of a student of the oldest university in Hong Kong.
Currently Hong Kong legislation sanctions the distribution of “Intimate images“, Including those created with Ia, but not the mere creation or possession of them. As there is no evidence that the images were broadcast, the University sent the student only a warning letter and asked her to apologize.
The institution stated that it is “In contact with the students in question”but he refused to comment on the case.
A growing phenomenon and victims without protection
The case is not isolated. Janice, a woman from Hong Kong near the age of 30, tells her life after her fake obscene images were sent to her people. “I tried not to go to work anymore and I dare not go out on the street”She remembers, mentioning that she has gone through suicidal thoughts and crying.
“I couldn't sleep anymore, I was afraid not to see the internet flooded with fake pornographic images with me.”says Janice, who has never been able to find out who was the culprit.
The NGO Association Concertoning Sexual Violence Against Women received 11 requests for help in the period 2024–2025 in cases of sexual deepfake, but the real number is probably much higher. “Victims don't know how to ask for help”Explains Doris Chong, one of the directories of the organization, quoted by France24.
Even when they do, they hit obstacles. Janice tells that a lawyer told her that without solid evidence, the police will not be able to support her.
Call to change the laws
According to Susanna Choi, a teacher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong“90% of victims of pornography generated with Ia are women, and this is done by a form of gender -based sexual violence“. She considers that legislators and universities must”extend and review existing laws and procedures“To combat the phenomenon.
The police say it has no official statistics in this area. Instead, other countries began to act. In May, the United States has adopted a law against the dissemination of Deepfakes and the “Rouven Porn”, and in the UK and Singapore there are debates to penalize these materials, even if not their possession, as lawyer Stephen Keung explains.
Opened investigations and public reactions
The scandal has determined the Authority for the Protection of Private Life in Hong Kong to open a criminal investigation, and the Equality Commission analyzes an official complaint. Meanwhile, the three students who have decided to speak publicly say they were criticized: “Many people said, “Destroy the future of this boy, you should apologize””.
The student's name was not made public and could not be contacted.
The main victim no longer publishes anything on social networks, for fear that other photos could be used against it. “The mere creation (of these images) is a problem … the intimacy, my private life and my dignity have been affected”said the young woman, demanding clear consequences for those who produce such materials.
