Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Cyber-bullying that led to the suicide of an actress and the fleeing of “dog poop girl” from her hometown provided impetus for a new Cyber Defamation Law in South Korea requiring that the real name of a user be published with any of the user’s uploads or posts.. This has led to tension between Google and the South Korean government over Google’s evasion of the country’s new Internet regulations. Google claims that the South Korean law violates its own policy of freedom of expression and the right to remain anonymous.
Actress Choi Jin-sil committed suicide on October 2, 2008. Reportedly, she was depressed over online rumors that claimed she had hassled actor Ahn Jae-hwan over a loan she had made to him, leading to his suicide less than a month before Choi’s.. The rumors suggested she was partially to blame in the actor’s suicide. In another case of cyber-bullying, a picture and the story of a young woman who had refused to clean up her dog’s droppings on the subway were posted online. The story spread quickly. She was soon identified and her personal information was released on the Internet, causing her to drop out of school and change residence.
Google has opted to discontinue South Korea’s YouTube uploads and comments, rather than change its registration system to verify its users’ identities in compliance with the law. In addition, Google triggered alarm by informing South Koreans how they can circumvent the law, and post and upload anonymously by switching their country setting on YouTube accounts.
-Vivian Kim
Google Disables Uploads, Comments on YouTube Korea (by Martyn Williams, IDG News Service)
Google Refuses South Korean Government’s Real Name-System (The Hankyoreh)
YouTube Korea Squelches Uploads, Comments (by Stephen Shankland, Cnet)
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