YouTube Cripples Own Site to Evade Korean Law
- Categories: International, News
- Date: Apr 14, 2009 15:34 JST
- Tags: Censorship, Google, Internet, Korea, Law, Politics, YouTube
YouTube has decided to cripple its Korean site rather than comply with a new law which would force it to publish the real names of all contributors and commenters on the site.
An amendment to a “cyber-defamation” law recently went into effect, requiring websites which have more than 100,000 unique users per day to list their real names and national identification card numbers.
What prevents users from falsely supplying these is not clear, but sites have no choice but to comply.
In response to the law, YouTube Korea, in consultation with Google, its US-based parent company, has disabled the ability of its Korean user base to upload videos or make comments on existing videos.
YouTube Korea in its current form can now only be viewed, but not interacted with, by its primary user base. It seems likely that this will pose problems to the growth in Korean language content on the site.
Google justified the maiming of its Korean site by citing its selectively applied “Do no evil” principles. Rachel Whetstone, Google’s vice president of public affairs, posted the following justification on Google’s Korean blog:
Google thinks the freedom of expression is most important value to uphold on the Internet. We concluded in the end that it is impossible to provide benefits to Internet users while observing this country’s law because the law does not fall in line with Google’s principles.
Google’s adherence to its principles runs directly contrary to the intent of the cyber-defamation legislation. The law’s proponents have argued that removing anonymity would curtail much of the savagery springing from the Korean Internet community.
Korean Internet users have a well deserved reputation for thuggish behavior. Numerous and well publicized incidents of mass cyber bullying have lead to real life confrontations, loss of reputation and significant financial losses for their victims.
The most egregious incident led to the suicide of famed actress Choi Jin-sil. Choi was apparently driven to suicide after a series of online rumors viciously attacked the actress’ financial dealings and character.
At times this aggressive online character also spills out onto overseas sites, typically motivated by nationalist indignation.
Korean reactions to the changes made by YouTube have been mostly indifferent. Google itself publicized a workaround where a Korean user could switch their preference setting to a country other than Korea, bypassing the limits set within the Korean site.
Also, Koreans accessing the site outside of Korea and non-Koreans (assuming they do not use the Korean language version) living in Korea have not been affected.
Unlike its presence in the West, YouTube Korea has a much smaller profile, so such a muted reaction is not altogether unexpected.
The application of the cyber defamation law seems rather uneven. Popular game forums such as those belonging to Korea’s World of Warcraft, which presumably falls under the amended legislation, still allows for the use of anonymous Internet pseudonyms.
Gundam 00 Movie Release Date – “September!”
Snow Miku Nendoroid Irresistibly Appealing
Haruhi Movie Reaches #7 in Japanese Box Office
Sea Shepherd to Attack Tuna Fishing Boats
Mugi-Mania Grips Otaku
Busty Yoko Cosplay
Pedobear “Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascot”
Anime Industry Laments Bust: “We Could Sell Anything!”
Marisa Kirisame Figma
Nippon Ichi Stock Plunges as Profits Wiped Out
Wonder Festival Winter 2010 Mega-Digest
Tony Works Ciel Chronicle Erotic Indeed
LDP Fields “Hair Nude” Candidate Miyako Aso
Noizi Ito’s Lightning
Final Fantasy XIII Sells for $20, Sales Now a Damp Squib
Kinema Kan’s Touhou Anime Music Video PV
Bizarre Japanese Vending Machine Gallery
Sexy Pizza Munching C.C. Cosplay
Matataku
Mischievous Suzume Gallery
Asuka Langley Cosplay by Kanda Midori
Otaku Bukkake Gallery
Nagato Yuki Disappearance Winter Version Cosplay
Mikupan
Sakuya Tsuitachi
Youtube 1 - Korea 0
You haven't read the entire article, have you?
tl;dr
I think it would be Korean law 1 - Youtube 0
Wrong, it's youtube 1 Korean law 0
They haven't done as the law says
Youtube chose to make a stand... yes its too bad that the people have to suffer the consequences of their governments decision but if they care enough to over turn it they can try.. until then Youtube doesn't have to roll over.
btw, Anonymous never forgives nor forget. Fuck Korea.
Maybe meant that it's cool YouTube is standing up for free expression, user privacy, etc.
i dont like pokari sweat. :( (refering to photo)
That's not Pocari Sweat, it's 'Pocari Sweet'!
No, that's Poccari Sweet....
Ponari Sweat(Only Indonesian knows this..., just type ponari case in google)
LOL XD
i think ponari sweat is becoming a meme in indonesia...
Indeed... orz
Seriously. Touma could do better with his Right-hand sweat.
anyone notice that the cord is in the wrong side of the mouse?
ah jeeze... after further inspection i realize i fail ; ;
no because its not?
it seems you need to read this
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Computer-Mouse
lol, indeed.
it's not a mouse, but a USB-powered vibrator, thank you.
i'm actually disturbed by the tissue box.
For oily skin maybe? It looks like summer after all.
Yes, yes... Tissue box aren't really needed when watching youtube videos.
now I really thank God that I'm not Korean...firstly, because of their hatred to Japan and now..no youtube??? how can I post my shows if I am a Korean...tsk tsk...gud luck Koreans with your awesome laws!
And to answer your question, how about a korean living in the states or some other god damn country where they can post videos! omfg...I didn't know being a certain ethnicity prohibited you from doing certain shit.
I'm just glad I'm not korean with your brains...because I think I wouldn't be able to post videos on youtube.=[
God damn I hate koreans who make these stupid f**king law..and hate the god damn country too.
c'mon anon, isn't it too obvious to you that I'm referring to Koreans IN South Korea...
stop being a poser leet, god! you can correct if this article is not about Koreans IN their country...
You only know korea from Sankaku. That's not exactly south korea, yknow.
Kill yourself.
O noez! If you had to post your real name and national id, you'd never post comments like that, anon! D=
I'm I really thank God that I'm not an uneducated nincompoop that makes accusations based on what the media pumps into the population. You think all Koreans hate Japanese and vice versa? Oh then you must think All Americans are gun toting trigger happy rednecks? Not to mention then you would think that all black people like grape juice and chicken? Get out of your room, turn off your computer, go outside and check out the real world, talk to people. Most importantly, get educated, and LEARN. You'll find that such stereotypes and racist comments are not always true.
*face palm*
again...I am referring to Koreans who hate Japan and their stuff, I am not generalizing that all Koreans hate Japan and besides correct me but is this also the government who banned Hetalia?
anons are sure annoying...
I'm pretty sure all the anons will agree that you've not made any clarification on your initial comment to allow the readers to distinguish that you were referring to Koreans and Japanese who hate each other.
Like how I don't like your obnoxious attitude that lacks complete respect for the other individual, but hey, it's the internet. Who gives a shit I guess. It's a dog eat dog world here, the weak will perish.
yah, I admit that my initial comment has too many loop holes or double meanings but nah, I'm sure they'll understand...
End this stupidity, please, this hating business goes both way. Either way your attempt of trolling doesn't benefit anyone here.
What are u talking about?
All black people i know love chicken.
And all Italians are in the Mafia. Its common knowledge.
if you read the article, there is an easy way around it.
agree
"Unlike its presence in the West, YouTube Korea has a much smaller profile, so such a muted reaction is not altogether unexpected."
Most Koreans don't use YouTube.
Maybe you should try reading the article again.
Obviously they have video sites other than YouTube which are more popular and widely-used in the country, because they sure don't give a lot of shit about what happened.
Bravo Youtube, bravo Google!
+1
....
well thats one way of doing it, dont know why they just didnt completly remove it altogether
That's quite a law they've got there.
Very interesting.
Not much can be said here,huh? Well,anyway..that's a good decision Youtube making there. It would be much a nuisance to the privacy of the users.
amazing what korean government waste their time on
Amazing what most governments will waste their time on <_<;
Korea is not the only one to come up with such frivolous laws to restrict their citizen's freedom
Unfortunately, I have to agree. Korea does NOT have the lock on stupid laws, the United States has enough of them to totally outweight South Korea any day of the week.
whenever i here of news from korea it always involves internet trolls and the like... this law is a good way to stop those trolls but it certainly is not the best because other innocent people get their rights stepped on... killing a few weed does not mean to clear the whole field
The problem is that most of these 'internet trolls' are simply telling what they believe is true. Last time I heard, that wasn't illegal in ANY country, South Korea included.
Basically, just get used to internet trolling and ignore it! MAN UP, as they say, and stop acting like a pansy with a 200 foot razor sharp metal stake heated to 2000F up your butt!
Koreans will now move to Nicovideo. Or do like the Chinese did.
Korea, stop being a phail.
They can't, because they are not designed to not phail
Corea invented that!
Did 'Coreans' also invent that spelling?
Actually, the british did. I think.
People who speak Spanish (in my home country) used to spell it that way until they started copying the awesome country that is USA.
That's one of the most retarded stunts Korean Gov. could do. Real names on youtube? whatever the hell for? besides that's just asking to get hacked on a silver platter.
If they wanted to prevent moronic stuff like the Hetalia incident happening, this is hardly the solution (if a solution at all); trolls are everywhere and posting IDs won't stop them, it just cripples and endangers the regular innocent user.
agree privety laws are supose to protect the user, not the overway arround. Beside who says you have to read that stuff.
i'm impressed, for a company to stand up against a nation, that's some balls.
It's the other way round which should surprise you.
well~~~~ that too yea. but nations have missles, internet companies only have porn supply sanction <: 3
truth.
the internet is more dangerous, i would think
Who cares.
I dont care with the news, I just care about the image.
FAP FAP FAP FAP
Although I care (read: am laughing at) the news, I'd agree with you that the image is pretty good...one thing that gets me, though, are the eyes (well, I guess 2 things >.>)...they don't seem quite right...
I can't see the point of the Korean government..
I agree that Youtube MAY have some issues with copyright holders but making all Korean IN South Korea youtubers (god, why should I always point what Koreans I'm referring to) exposed to their true identities is...already an invasion of their privacy...
No duh, have the government officials are friggen commies.
This isn't about communism. Thank you VERY much, but this is happening over in the United States, where most of our politicians are nowhere near communists, on either side of the aisle.
I believe the proper term for such policies is "Socialistic" which, btw, is just a stone's throw away from communism. Stop being so ignorant and open your eyes - guess what, your gov't doesn't always tell you the truth.
No, it's statist and concerned with conserving social norms. Put the two together. Quit trying to sound clever while demonstrating your own lazy indoctrination. Socialists are statist in the economic sphere; intervention in the social sphere has always been a favourite hobby of the right, that is unless you accept tired, cold-war distortions of what socialism is.
I don't care about the news, I just care with the good image :D
*fap fap fap
tshh! noob... i fap to the texts, challenge that.
i fap to your avatar. now BEAT THAT!
*blush*
It's about time for Koreans to buck up like the rest of us and learn to take e-criticism from e-thugs so they don't hurt their e-feelings too much. Christ, look at people like Chris-chan, he's pretty much known as a freak throughout the interwebs, and he hasn't killed himself yet.
If your country as a collective isn't as tough as some borderline retard, that's rather pitiful.
This law is easy to circumvent. Instead of being anons, everyone use the same name and ID number.
Name: Zero
ID: 0000~
This made me seriously lol XD
I think their government will not allow same name and ID number..and then they will make a rule that every youtube account must have a unique national ID number..if this doesn't match up or exist in their registry, then you can't make your account..with this, they can efficiently tell who's who....
Anyway, Google already crippled the Korean Youtube...who cares...
no they won't do that. Government means lazy in every language. You think they are going to force Google and Youtube to hire them to code the site?? lol. uh, no, they will just REQUIRE (did you read the article?) all Korean sites getting more than 100,000 unique visitors a day to implement their system.
Heh i think you do.
koreans don't care. they have their naver and cyworld and gom tv.
True that.
>Korean reactions to the changes made by YouTube have been mostly indifferent.
I was going to be a smartass and say "How do you know if they're no longer commenting?" But then you pointed out the workaround. I :('d.
Still, this is yet more evidence that Korean legislators have their head even further up their own intestinal tract than the "cyber-bullies" (and what a silly term that is. Bullies are bullies, there's no need to prefix them with anything just because they use a computer) they're targeting. Anonymity will almost always be easy to obtain on the internet by those who desire it, and such nanny state legislation only serves to censor those who would, e.g., innocently vent about their annoying boss at work on their private blog.
"It seems likely that this will pose problems to the growth in Korean language content on the site."
And nothing of value was lost.
Seriously though, very interesting news.
True, who cares about moonspeak? English all the way!
so anon is no no to them
you're the man bo122!
Would you please just... Go back to the forums... and.. Stay there?
I'm more concerned for those with an unorthodox name.
Maybe the situation will worsen into bouts of name-calling.
Good for Google. Much of this article sounds like its siding with the Korean lawmakers just to spite the obnoxious Korean online community. They may be bad, but internet without anonymity is like toast without butter.
I like my toast without butter.
WTF real names????Korea is the Internet's IRL final boss!
Major props to Google. I've always liked them as a company, mostly because they don't cave to BS like this (or RIAA/MPAA in the US).
the easy way around this law is simple create a site filed with anons <_< its the most logical loophole in their law and still avoidable haha
koreans are just plain stupid that it!!!!
Why the fuck are we going to put private datas on the internet?
Koreans kill people who mess with them in MMORPGs... If we put in our names in youtube and accidentally offend these Koreans... They'll hunt us down...
FUCK KOREAN ACTIVISTS AND NATIONALISTS!
You didn't read the article, did you..
He pretty much tl;dr
I did read it all... And I really hate these extreme morons...
They've done nothing but ban these and that whine here, rally here, protest there and make stupid laws that don't actually help the economy or environment. They should make laws that actually help people...
That is why laws are made... So that people would follow a rule that would make things better...
As for the loli bans and the hentai bans and the youtube things... FUCK THESE LAWS AND THEIR MAKERS!
they sure as fucking hell are shootin' emselves in the foot.
doin things like this will just make the true blue youtubeians of korea defect to JAPAN!
so much for their attempts.
I read the whole article.
Well done.
Hahahaha.
Go Youtube go!!!
haha Korea, youtube's got a new video for ya, entitlted: fuck you
People in Korea have committed SUICIDE from cyber-bullying. I do not want to make light of these deaths, but they, this law, and google's response would not have happened if Koreans as a culture actually had a skin to speak of. Not just for the victims themselves, but for everyone who actually took these cyber-bullying acts seriously and thus turned what could've been just trash-talk spoken from anonymity by a group of losers on the net into real damage to reputation and lives for these victims. These people just cannot find it in themselves to see the trolling for what it is and just IGNORE, and just have to let themselves get worked up to the point of actual damage.
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2008/10/13/girl-charged-over-fatal-blog-comment/
See whether/how the Japanese reactions differs...
Kudos to Youtube for making a stand against pathetic laws posted by an even more pathetic government. I think it's safe to say that pretty much the entire world is fed up with North Korea's bullshit, and it's about time someone showed them that the world doesn't revolve around their joke of a dictator.
Are you fucking stupid? It's South Korea...
Well I'm not expecting much here anyways; it's pro-Japan to the teeth.
*slow clap*
Well done, Google. It's nice to see a private enterprise grow some balls and tell the government to suck one every once in a while.
when did Korea become China?
"Google thinks the freedom of expression is most important value to uphold on the Internet."
Bullshit. Contreversial videos about current politics are taking down all the time, especially videos against Islam. Even if people flag a video for no good reason, if they get enough flags, youtube take it down.
"especially videos against Islam"
How is taking down these type of videos can be a bad thing?
Good!
Finally, they can end these
anon fgts
korea and china's government have no tact. they are a fucking embarassment. korea wants everyones personal information and china wants everyone's source code. they are like a bunch of kids in a playground, trying to get things to line up.