Baek Hyunjin "Mandatory Adult Verification for Accommodation App Reservations and Measures to Address Deepfake Technology Damage"

"Legal and Institutional Reforms Must Keep Pace with Technological Advances"

Baek Hyun-jin, Member of the People Power Party / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] When making reservations through accommodation applications (apps), adult verification will be mandatory, and legal protection measures for victims of 'deepfake technology' are expected to be established.

On the 14th, Baek Hyun-jin, a member of the People Power Party, introduced a bill titled "Partial Amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection," which includes mandatory adult verification when booking accommodation apps.

The current Youth Protection Act designates lodging businesses as places where youth entry and employment are prohibited, thereby banning youth access. However, recently, accommodation reservation apps that allow bookings without adult verification have emerged, causing lodging businesses to be exploited as blind spots for youth-related crimes. In June last year, an incident occurred where five teenagers confined a student with intellectual disabilities in a motel and assaulted them by throwing filth.

According to the bill proposed by Representative Baek, among information and communication service providers, those providing or mediating information about lodging businesses must make adult verification mandatory for users of such services, thereby preemptively blocking youth accommodation reservations.

Measures to prevent damage caused by 'deepfake videos' have also been prepared. Representative Baek proposed a bill that mandates digital watermarking on videos using deepfake technology and allows requests for deletion of deepfake videos made without the consent of the involved parties.

Representative Baek stated, "With the rapid development of ICT technologies, positive changes are occurring in everyday life through AI, metaverse, cloud, and more, but crimes exploiting these technologies are also increasing. Legal and institutional improvements must accompany technological advancements to prevent harm to victims caused by new technologies."

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