"Neglect Despite Requests to Delete Illegal Filming Materials... Operator's Arbitrary Judgment 'Problematic'"

No Designated Institutions Even in 6 Regions Including Gwangju and Jeonnam

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Value-added telecommunications service providers operating·and managing information and communication networks have been found to neglect or even exclude from the number of reports received illegal filming content reports and deletion requests based on their own judgment.

According to the National Assembly audit data submitted by the Korea Communications Commission to Lee Yong-bin, a member of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, out of 10,197 requests for deletion of illegal filming content, nearly half, 4,786 cases (46%), were arbitrarily interpreted by the providers and no action was taken.

This year, the total number of deletion requests for illegal filming content made by individuals (3,372 cases) and institutions/organizations (6,825 cases) was 10,197. Providers processed reports, deletions, and access blocks for 5,407 cases, which is half of the total, but for the remaining 4,786 cases, providers independently determined that the content was not illegal filming. Only 4 cases were referred to the Korea Communications Standards Commission for review.

However, according to Article 22-2 of the Telecommunications Business Act (Prevention of Distribution of Illegal Filming Content by Value-added Telecommunications Service Providers), providers are required to promptly take necessary measures such as deletion and access blocking to prevent distribution when requested by designated institutions or organizations announced by the Korea Communications Commission.

There is also a provision that if providers fail to comply without justifiable reasons, they may be punished with “imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 100 million won,” but no cases of enforcement have occurred so far. The Korea Communications Commission stated that since the law is in its early stages, it plans to establish detailed standards such as maintaining statistics through consultations between institutions, organizations, and providers, and will check the implementation of technical and managerial measures that were deferred until the end of the year.

It was also pointed out as a problem that there are no designated institutions to request reports and deletions of illegal filming content in six metropolitan cities and provinces including Gwangju, Jeonnam, Gangwon, Sejong, Ulsan, and Chungbuk. As of 2021, 14 institutions, including 11 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide and the Korea Women’s Human Rights Institute under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, are active.

Assemblyman Lee Yong-bin said, “The Korea Communications Commission should once again recall how great the social damage caused by the Nth Room case was and ensure that follow-up measures promoted after the Nth Room case proceed without any setbacks,” adding, “From the perspective of preventing digital dysfunction, the Korea Communications Commission should proactively improve blind spots that occurred in the early stages of law enforcement through communication among institutions, organizations, and providers.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.