China outraged by leaked exploitative images of women on Telegram
Chinese citizens expressed widespread outrage after reports revealed sexually exploitative images of women had been shared in encrypted Telegram chat groups. The scandal, involving secret footage and private photos, drew over 270 million views on China’s Weibo and renewed calls for tougher laws on digital voyeurism and non-consensual content.
A Telegram group named “MaskPark tree hole forum” shared images and videos of women secretly filmed in public spaces like toilets, using hidden pinhole cameras, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Some groups reportedly had over 100,000 users, with others reaching up to 900,000. The material included private images of ex-girlfriends and even female relatives, some allegedly sold for profit.
A victim told media her ex-boyfriend shared intimate images of her without consent. Due to Telegram’s settings, images were self-deleting and hard to trace.
Experts say China's current laws provide weak penalties—often just fines or short detentions—unless the material is proven obscene.
Telegram is blocked in China and hosted overseas, complicating investigations. Its encrypted nature also makes gathering legal evidence difficult.
Comparisons have been made to South Korea’s notorious “Nth Room” scandal, though commenters noted MaskPark’s abuse was more decentralized and normalized.
Legal experts and women’s rights advocates are urging the Chinese government to:
Strengthen criminal laws to address intimate image abuse more effectively.
Improve surveillance of tech platforms and crack down on hidden-camera sales.
Increase international cooperation to regulate encrypted apps misused for abuse.
Telegram responded by stating non-consensual content violates its terms and is removed when found. However, smaller sub-forums reportedly remain active.
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