Obscene Content
The amount of illegal and obscene content accessible through foreign web sites such as Google and YouTube is increasing, but the supervising body is overlooking this.
Congressman Song Ho-chang of the Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee of the National Assembly announced on Oct. 15 that illegal information provided by foreign business entities increased 13 times this year compared to 2010. Among such information, content related to prostitution and pornography had increased 17 times.
Regarding illegal information including sexual and obscene content, the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) requires Korean business entities to delete them and citizens to stop consuming such content.
However, Congressman Song argued that the KCSC can only block access to such content offered by foreign business entities, as they are not bound by Korean law.
But there are limitations to the effectiveness of blocking. Images provided through search results from foreign Internet service providers such as Google are not actually blocked. Accordingly, a lot of obscene content is still available without any barrier.
As users can get access to a lot of illegal information through simple searches without actually entering certain websites, the effect of blocking access is very limited.
Congressman Song said, “There is no border to illegal information. Foreign business entities that provide services to Koreans or in Korea should not be exempt from regulations. The Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting and Communications Committee needs to comply with its purpose by being actively engaged in eradicating illegal information related to sexual content and gambling.”