Korea: the end of online anonymity is near!
posted by:Marty // 08:13 PM // July 30, 2005 // Digital Democracy: law, policy and politics
This may have gone under the radar for some (myself included) as it came out earlier in July…
South Korea is set to release in October what is being dubbed the ‘real name system’. The real name system will be a policy mechanism implemented by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC).
The real name system, an initiative of Prime Minister Lee hae-chan, is the governments’ response to recent instances of online slander and harassment. The full effect of the real-name system could very well be the legislated end to online anonymity in South Korea as it would require all internet users to post their real name and resident registration numbers when posting online. Effectiveness of the system is a different matter entirely.
For more on the real name system see:
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/200507/kt2005071821300310230.htm
Obviously this is chilling stuff (double-entendre intended). Alarming even. What shocked me more is the thrust of an editorial in the Korean daily JoongAng Daily:
Some civic groups and Internet companies are opposing the introduction of the "real name" system. They insist that it is a very dangerous idea, because it means everyday people will be monitored as though they were criminals. Others warn that there could be serious unintended consequences, such as the theft of residential registration numbers, which are key to the system. But the threat to privacy can be prevented by developing a system that can verify a user's identity by means other than the residential registration number. At any rate, it is in the basic spirit of the Constitution that the rights of victims deserve protection as much as people's freedom of expression does.
I read this to be a call for balance, but a misguided one. In essence an alternative system of verification is still a gateway and barrier to anonymous access. Threats to privacy still pervade. But I digress. What I would like to pick upon is the debate between victims’ rights versus freedom of express (and association, privacy, etc.) that can be had here. Is the real name system an overreaction by the State to a few instances of cyberslander or harassment? If a balancing act between rights cannot be achieved, should rights still trump other rights? Considering that it, likely, will be easy to evade the real name system, thus calling into question is efficacy, should such a system really be put in place, given the messages it sends?
In thinking about this debate, keep this in mind - 80% of respondents to a MIC study support the real name system (source: Korea.net).
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