China uncovers large-scale AI pornography black market

Chinese cybersecurity regulators have uncovered a large-scale black market dedicated to producing harmful AI-generated pornographic short films. The operation includes a sophisticated infrastructure involving data trading, application operation, technical tool development, and content production recruitment. Some job advertisements for online screenwriters reportedly offered salaries as high as 40,000 NDT per month.

The rise of this content has sparked significant concern regarding access by minors. A survey by Common Sense Media of over 1,300 adolescents aged 13-17 found that nearly 75% had viewed online pornography. Furthermore, approximately 20% of those surveyed had either created AI pornography themselves or knew someone who had, with over half of those instances involving depictions of people they knew personally.

Approximately 44% of teenagers surveyed had viewed AI-generated pornography, with 15% accessing it through AI applications capable of editing photos and videos. The black market operates with subscription models, such as 50 NDT per month or 500 NDT annually. Some content specifically targets students and depicts inappropriate relationships between teachers and pupils.