Facebook's Arrogance
Facebook is at loggerheads with the Korean government over the classification of games on its web site and Facebook-connected mobile games. In response to the government' demand for game ratings, the social networking giant discontinued providing its gaming service and started to give a full refund for previously-purchased games.
According to industry sources on Sept. 1, Facebook blocked all of its games from the country starting on Aug. 26.
When visiting Facebook's game page as of Sept. 1, one can find a message saying, “Sorry, unrated games are not available in your country. Only games with a rating from the Game Rating and Administration Committee are accessible in Korea. For more info visit the GRAC's website.” When a user tries to access a game, they are greeted with the message saying, “This game hasn't received a rating from the Games Rating and Administration Committee.” Hence, it is almost impossible to use Facebook's gaming service within the nation.
After blocking games, the social media giant began to give refunds to local users. It sent e-mails to those who had purchased a game, notifying them that they could be reimbursed for games purchased after July 15.
This incident was triggered by a demand from the GRAC, which operates under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). Previously, the committee demanded the R18+ classification for games on Facebook. Under the law, all games must be reviewed by the committee for R18+ classification. However, some unclassified games have been served via the social networking platform until recently.
In particular, the GRAC reportedly cracked down on unclassified games served by Facebook, in accordance with legal requirements.
Nevertheless, the social networking giant did not comply with the government's request, instead unilaterally blocking its game service. Furthermore, it was revealed that Facebook asked the government to hand over authority for game content ratings.
In fact, the MCST said, “Facebook demanded that the company be given the authority to rate games by itself, on the grounds that games provided by the firm are available on online and mobile platforms. Moreover, the company argued that it is a global company.”
The government's position is that the SNS service provider is asking for special favors. An official at the GRAC remarked, “Some of Facebook's online games appear to be speculative, and some other games are under investigation by the public prosecutor's office.” The official added, “We sent an official notice several times to Facebook, but the company ignored our warnings and blocked its gaming service instead.” Facebook Korea responded by saying, “If games are rated, we can reopen our gaming service.”
An increasing number of people are voicing their opinions that innocent users suffer as a consequence of Facebook's action. A source in the gaming industry said, “Usually, companies wait for a certain period of time, like one month, before blocking their games. But Facebook broke with precedent, starting to block its gaming service right away.” The source added, “It seems like only the users are the victims.” Some methods to bypass the restrictions on Facebook's page are circulating on the Internet, and a growing number of people are saying that this incident has encouraged illegal activities.