BEIJING: Thousands of men allegedly shared intimate photos and videos of their girlfriends without consent on Telegram, Chinese media reported, triggering widespread condemnation over privacy violations and demands for stronger protections for women.
Pornography is illegal in China, yet conservative social attitudes towards women persist, often reinforced by state media and cultural norms. The issue gained attention after a Chinese university expelled a woman this month for “damaging national dignity” over intimate videos posted by a Ukrainian esports player on Telegram.
The state-owned Southern Daily revealed that a woman discovered private photos of herself, taken without her knowledge, circulating in a Telegram forum with over 100,000 members, predominantly Chinese men. Another report from the Guangming Daily, a Communist Party-backed outlet, stated that forum members also shared images of their girlfriends, ex-partners, and wives.
Public outrage surged online, with one comment on Red Note, an Instagram-like platform, stating, “We are not ‘content’ that can be randomly uploaded, viewed, and fantasised about.” A related hashtag on Weibo has been viewed more than 230 million times since Thursday.
While the largest group, “Mask Park,“ has been shut down, smaller offshoots remain active, according to women interviewed by Southern Daily. Telegram, which encrypts messages and is banned in China but accessible via VPNs, stated that nonconsensual pornography violates its terms and is removed when detected.
The case has drawn parallels to South Korea’s “Nth Room” scandal, where women were blackmailed into sharing explicit content. Chinese women have since shared personal experiences of being secretly filmed in public.
Despite police crackdowns on illegal filming in recent years, feminist activism remains heavily restricted in China. Authorities have yet to announce any action against the Telegram group, but the Guangming Daily called for accountability and stronger legal protections. – AFP
