The anger in China has flared after news broke of sexually exploitative photos of women circulating in Telegram chat groups with hundreds of thousands of members. According to a report by Southern Daily, the group called the “MaskPark tree hole forum” shared photos and videos of women that were secretly taken, including those in public toilets.
The photos and videos were taken using pinhole cameras and sold within the chat group. Some members also posted private photos of their ex-girlfriends and even their family. On the social media platform Weibo, related hashtags have reached more than 270 million views, showing the scale of the issue.
According to the report, some users are also selling items such as incense holders with hidden cameras to obtain secret footage of women. Huang Simin, a lawyer specializing in sexual violence cases, said that many women now feel afraid and lack legal protection.
Although the main MaskPark forum has been removed, sub-groups are still active on Telegram. Telegram has stated that it prohibits this type of content and continues to remove non-consensual pornography. However, prosecuting those involved remains a challenge for authorities due to Telegram's encryption and its hosting outside of China.
Many netizens are comparing this incident to the Nth Room scandal in South Korea, but the MaskPark case is said to be more widespread because it is done for fun and not for profit. Experts have called for stricter laws against voyeurism and the dissemination of non-consensual images to better protect women from this type of abuse.
