Telegram Scandal In China: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Users Spread Intimate Photos Secretly, Women Become Victims Of Voyeurism!

Telegram became the nest of Voyeurism (photo: dock. telegram)

JAKARTA China's cyberspace was rocked by a major scandal after local media revealed the massive spread of images of sexual exploitation of Chinese women in Telegram's encrypted messaging app. The images were reportedly taken secretly in public places such as toilets, dressing rooms, even private homes, then spread by hundreds of thousands of users through anonymous groups.

An exclusive Southern Daily newspaper report states that one of Telegram's most controversial groups called 'MaskPark Tree Hole Forum' is a hotbed for spreading indecent images. The group, which is rumored to have more than 100,000 members from within and outside China, is a place to share photos and videos of women taken without permission, including by ex-girlfriends or even members of the victim's family.

What's even more surprising is that most of the content in the group comes from hidden pinhole cameras, which are installed in public toilets, bathrooms, or other public places. Many users also sell tools such as woven containers that have been modified with hidden cameras, making vocational as organized dark hobby'.

This scandal immediately ignited public anger on Chinese social media, especially on the Weibo platform. The hashtag related to MaskPark has been viewed more than 270 million times only on Tuesday, July 29, with thousands of comments from residents who are furious and restless. One of the viral comments wrote: "Very scary, secret recording activities like this seem to have become part of everyday life."

China is known to have strict laws related to pornography and immoral content on the internet. However, because Telegram is blocked in China, users who access it must use VPN and this makes legal tracking more complicated. Telegram groups such as MaskPark also use self-destruct messages features that make the content of the conversation automatically deleted and cannot be screened.

One of the female victims interviewed by Southern Daily revealed that her ex-girlfriend secretly recorded their intimate scenes, then spread them to the group without permission. "He also spread my social media accounts," he said. He only found out the existence of the forum after receiving anonymous information last May.

Several other branch groups in the MaskPark ecosystem even have a larger number of members reaching 900,000 users, according to Southern Daily. However, until this news was written, MaskPark's main group had been removed from Telegram, although its small sub-formum was still active.

Telegram through its spokesperson stated that non-consensual pornographic content is explicitly prohibited in their Terms of Service. Our moderators actively monitor the public part of the platform and receive reports from users to remove millions of harmful content every day," he explained.

This scandal sparked a comparison with the 'Nth Room' scandal in South Korea, which is in the global spotlight in 2020. In this case, the perpetrators blackmailed at least 74 women, including minors, into sending their sexual videos to the paid Telegram group. The main perpetrators of the scandal in South Korea were sentenced to 40 years in prison.

However, the case of MaskPark in China is considered more "dangerous" because of its more widespread nature and does not have a single main actor. Unlike the money-oriented 'Nth Room', MaskPark spreads content for 'personal pleasure', wrote a Weibo user whose comments got more than 14,000 likes.

Unfortunately, the current law in China is considered not strong enough to ensnare the perpetrators of voyeurism. According to lawyer specialist in sexual violence, Huang Simin, the spread of non-consensual images can be charged with articles on spread of obscene material for profit, but the punishment for the case of secret recording is still relatively light only fines up to 500 yuan (around Rp1,130,000.) or 10 days of administrative confinement, depending on the case.

Another problem, he continued, is the high standard of proof in criminal cases, so that many perpetrators escape the legal snares because of insufficient evidence. In addition, there is no specific law that regulates the spread of adult intimate images online, making case handling even more difficult.

Both Huang and other legal experts urged the Chinese government to immediately establish new regulations that are more specific and strict regarding the spread of intimate images and visual-based sexual violence. I hope China will develop criminal laws to regulate vocational and sexual violence through visual images," he said.

The MaskPark scandal is a strong warning of the dangers of unsupervised digital space and how technology can be easily misused. Amid the rapid progress of AI and global communication systems, demands for the protection of women's privacy and rights have become more pressing than ever before.