More than 200 U.S. organizations urge the Senate to enact legislation
UK enacts law imposing a fine of ‘10% of sales’
Korea has no law to regulate overseas big tech
Governments in major countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom are accelerating discussions on regulations to protect children and adolescents from new types of harmful content distributed on large platforms called ‘Big Tech’. This is due to the judgment that new forms of harmful content, such as those that glorify certain body types or encourage hatred, are having an increasingly negative impact on underage users. However, in Korea, there is no related discussion.
According to NBC News, more than 200 organizations, including the National Education Association, sent a letter to Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer on the 6th (local time) urging passage of the ‘Kids Online Safety Act’. They urged, “We must schedule a vote on this bill first in January next year.”
In the United States, controversy surrounding harmful content posted on large platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok has recently been spreading. The New Mexico Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram, alleging that they are not protecting underage users from pornographic content. According to the New Mexico Department of Justice, when fake Facebook accounts were created for users under the age of 14 for the purpose of an investigation, sexually explicit content continued to appear even when no particular interest was posted. Short-form content such as ‘diet stimulation videos’ that cause underage users to reduce their meals or starve themselves were uploaded on YouTube, causing controversy in American society.
The United Kingdom has already enacted the ‘Online Safety Act’ with similar contents through parliamentary approval and royal approval, and even released a detailed implementation plan on October 26 this year. It mandates platforms to apply age restrictions to various harmful content, and also includes a punishment clause that requires platform companies that violate this to pay a fine of up to 10% of their global annual sales.
On the other hand, in Korea, it is pointed out that it is difficult to properly sanction new types of harmful content from Big Tech under the current Information and Communications Network Act. According to Rep. Yoon Doo-hyeon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information, Communications and Broadcasting Committee, when underage users enter search terms such as ‘lookbook’ (a booklet containing fashion information) on Google YouTube without a separate subscription, sexually suggestive videos appear. However, there are no laws or related systems that can prevent this phenomenon.
In particular, global big techs with servers and headquarters located overseas do not participate in the ‘Korea Internet Self-Regulatory Policy Organization’, a self-regulatory body in which domestic companies such as Naver participate. Therefore, the government has no choice but to induce global big tech to take its own corrective measures. Regarding the issue of new harmful content, Google said, “We will report the relevant information to headquarters and discuss internally (measures to protect minor users).”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.