Next News Revamp... "Malicious Commenters Will Be Permanently Banned from Commenting"

Published 26 Feb.2020 14:46(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Kakao is strengthening its policies on malicious comments by adding a new reporting category for 'discrimination and hate speech.'

On the 26th, Kakao announced that it will revamp the news comment services and operational policies on the portal 'Daum' and the KakaoTalk tab.

Kakao has enhanced its malicious comment reporting and sanction policies by introducing a new reporting category for discrimination and hate speech, in addition to profanity and vulgar language. Kakao explained, "We considered that even if profanity or vulgar language is not used, comments can still cause discomfort to others or infringe on an individual's dignity and honor."

If a malicious comment reported by a user is confirmed to be problematic, Kakao will not only delete the comment but also impose sanctions on the author. Regarding sanctions, Kakao stated, "It involves restricting the ability to write comments," adding, "In some cases, users may be permanently banned from commenting."

They have added a 'report notification' feature that informs users of the outcome when a reported comment is deleted, and introduced a 'fold' function that allows users to manage the visibility of the entire post area. By selecting OFF on the ON/OFF button at the top of the comment section, the entire comment area disappears, and pressing ON again will display the comments. There is also a 'cover' feature that hides unwanted comments or the authors of those comments from view in the future.

Yeo Min-soo and Cho Soo-yong, co-CEOs of Kakao, said, "This revamp allows the good intentions and influence of the majority of users to be reflected in the service, enabling users to directly create the communication ecosystem," and added, "We are continuously implementing the promised measures to protect users' rights and dignity and fulfill our social responsibilities."