By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

The government is moving quickly to tighten its control of the Internet, stressing the need to curb what it calls ``cyber-bullying.''

The Korean Communications Commission (KCC), the country's telecommunications and broadcasting regulator, said Tuesday it was planning to revise the current Telecommunications Law to force Internet sites to suspend the posting of articles, photos and audiovisual content for at least 30 days, should questions be raised over the veracity of the information.

The revision means any material on the Internet that can be claimed as being misleading or offensive will be removed starting next year.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han announced stronger punishment for distributors of fraudulent and slanderous information on the Internet, including plans to introduce a ``Cyber Defamation Law."

Policymakers are also planning stricter regulations for Internet sites collecting and gathering personal information including resident registration numbers ― a 13-digit number that includes birth-date, sex and registration site ― and plans to expand the use of electronic signatures and mobile-phones for verification.

The changes, if approved by the National Assembly, could be implemented as early as next year.

The Lee Myung-bak government has been finding it difficult to cope with the spread of anti-government criticism in the blogosphere, triggered by the controversial decision to lift the ban on U.S. beef imports, and beleaguered bureaucrats have since been busy coming up with new ways to monitor the Internet.

The plan to strengthen online censorship is the boldest, and probably most criticized, move by policymakers yet.

According to KCC plans, Internet portals and peer-to-peer (p2p) sites will be forced to delete content or suspend publishing for 30 days upon receiving a complaint.

During a suspension, the Korean Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's media arbitration body, will be asked to rule whether to allow the Internet site to publish the articles or order them to be deleted.

This means that any online articles claimed as fraudulent or slanderous could be blocked from access immediately, regardless of whether the legitimacy of the complaints is proved by the KCSC or in court.

So for example, if a blogger or online journalist writes a post criticizing government policy, any related ministry could demand Internet sites to hold back the article for at least a month.

There is a similar provision in the current Telecommunications Law, but with no stated penalties, it was considered irrelevant. The KCC will decide on the penalties for violators soon.

``Everybody keeps talking about whether this infringes on freedom of expression, but that freedom can only be respected when it doesn't infringe on the rights of other people,'' said Im Cha-shik, the director of network policy at KCC.

``Portals are self-regulating the types of articles that may get them into legal trouble, deleting or suspending them, but the majority of people hurt by fraudulent online information do not seek legal action for compensation. Our intension is to protect them,'' he said.

The KCC didn't provide any guidelines on the type of online content that would be regulated, triggering criticism on whether the regulator is seeking to use its power arbitrarily.

And with the KCSC currently overworked, with more than 2,000 issues undecided, it's questionable whether it would be realistic to expect the arbitration body to be able to dictate what should and should not be published on the Internet.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr