Were Even 'Goyang-i Jjal' Deleted? ... Is It Censorship Under the 'Nth Room Prevention Act'?

People Power Party Officially Moves to Reamend the 'Nth Room Prevention Act'
"Agitation Politics," "Fundamental Forgetfulness of Party Politics" Criticized
Experts Say "Constitutional Issues May Arise, but Direction Must Be Understood"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Since the enforcement of the 'Nth Room Prevention Act (Amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act and the Information and Communications Network Act)' on the 10th, controversy over 'prior censorship' has arisen. The People Power Party announced that it would push for a revision of the law, arguing that it has constitutional issues such as infringement of freedom and that it is difficult to effectively regulate the distribution of illegal filming materials. However, there are also opinions that the law, created through public demand and bipartisan agreement, should not be hastily amended.

The controversy erupted on the 10th, when the Nth Room Prevention Act was fully enforced and the 'illegal filming material filtering function' was applied to KakaoTalk Open Chat and large online communities. Enacted in December last year, the core of the Nth Room Prevention Act is to impose technical and managerial obligations on value-added telecommunications service providers to prevent the distribution of illegal filming materials.

The filtering is done by comparing content uploaded to Open Chat and other platforms with illegal filming material data provided by the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), and if they match, the content is restricted. The targets include webhard operators and social networking services (SNS), online communities, portals, etc., with a certain scale (annual sales of 1 billion KRW or more, or an average of 100,000 daily users or more). In the case of KakaoTalk, private conversations are not subject to filtering; the filtering function applies only to videos or GIFs (moving pictures) shared in Open Chat group chat rooms.

Immediately after the law's enforcement, some online communities voiced opposition, claiming the filtering function amounted to prior censorship. One netizen complained that a cat video unrelated to illegal filming materials was flagged with a message saying 'Under review for whether it corresponds to illegal filming material.' However, this is part of the filtering process for videos shared in KakaoTalk Open Chat, and if the content is not illegal filming material, the transmission completes within a few seconds to tens of seconds.

The KCSC drew a clear line, stating it could not agree with the criticism of censorship. In a press release on the 13th, the KCSC explained, "(The filtering function) simply compares the characteristic information of illegal filming materials reviewed and resolved by the KCSC with the characteristic information of the content to verify whether it is illegal filming material, and it is not applied to private chat rooms to guarantee the secrecy and freedom of communication. It is completely unrelated to censorship issues."

On May 20th last year, the first plenary session of the 378th National Assembly (extraordinary session) was held in the main chamber of the National Assembly, where the partial amendment bill to the Telecommunications Business Act (alternative) was passed. Photo by Yonhap News

yatoya@yna.co.kr

As opposition to the Nth Room Prevention Act intensified, the People Power Party immediately announced plans to push for a revision of the law. Presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol stated on Facebook on the 12th, "The Nth Room Prevention Act is insufficient to prevent a second Nth Room crime, while instilling 'fear of censorship' in the vast majority of law-abiding citizens. How can a country be called a free country if even cute cat videos or videos of beloved family members are subject to censorship?"

He added, "Of course, heinous crimes such as the distribution of illegal filming materials and digital sex crimes must be fundamentally blocked and punished severely. However, the possibility of infringing on the secrecy of communication is a serious issue that must be taken seriously in a liberal democratic country."

There were also criticisms that the Nth Room Prevention Act does not apply to overseas messengers such as 'Telegram,' which was the actual production and distribution route of sexual exploitation materials, thus limiting its regulatory effect. Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, wrote on Facebook, "The Nth Room Prevention Act has ambiguous standards and severely infringes on the freedom of communication. It is practically difficult to apply to Telegram and others, which were distribution routes in the Nth Room case, so it ultimately lacks effectiveness. We will actively push for revision at the party level."

Messenger 'Telegram'.
Photo by Yonhap News

However, there are also arguments that it is inappropriate to mention revision or repeal without thorough review of a law enacted with public consent and bipartisan agreement. Jang Hye-young, senior spokesperson of the Justice Party, criticized in a written briefing, "As soon as the Nth Room Prevention Act was enforced, Leader Lee Jun-seok and candidate Yoon Seok-yeol once again engaged in inflammatory politics backed by male-dominated community opinion. This is the height of irresponsibility that forgets the basics of party politics."

She continued, "The Nth Room Prevention Act was created with the awareness that it must include responsibilities and regulations for distribution platforms to proactively block the spread of digital sexual exploitation materials. No matter how inexperienced the party leader and presidential candidate are in the legislature, they do not even know that they should basically share responsibility for a law passed together by both parties. I don't understand what kind of politics they intend to do."

Experts emphasized that any revision or repeal of the Nth Room Prevention Act requires careful consideration and the presentation of effective alternatives.

Attorney Lee Eun-ui (Lee Eun-ui Law Office) said, "The Nth Room Prevention Act was urgently enacted after the Nth Room incident last year due to the social atmosphere and the urgent need to prevent the distribution of illegal filming materials, and it is true that it was not sufficiently reviewed from multiple angles. There can be issues raised regarding effectiveness and possible constitutional infringements."

However, "It is a law created with the consent of the majority of the National Assembly. To argue for revision or repeal, one must understand the necessity of regulating the distribution of illegal filming materials and the purpose of this law, and propose alternatives after sufficient consideration. For example, there should be discussions on how to handle companies headquartered overseas, such as Telegram, which were pointed out for lack of effectiveness. It is not appropriate to abolish or demand revision of a law just because some oppose it right after it has been enforced," he pointed out.

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