By Yi Whan-woo
The government unveiled a set of measures Friday to block teenagers’ access to pornography using the Internet and smartphones.
Under the new measures, resident identification numbers commonly stolen by adolescents will not be able to be used to authorize access to adult material.
The government will require online content providers to install software programs that prevent obscene material from being viewed easily.
The decision reflects growing public concern about the side-effects of high-technology devices that enable teenagers to watch pornography.
The administration will scrap its policy of using resident identification numbers for authorization beginning in August.
The adult content providers instead will ask their users to provide cell phone numbers, credit card information, or Internet Personal Identification Numbers (i-PIN). The content companies also will be asked to check whether the information has been reported stolen.
Online storage companies will be required to operate pornography censorship programs to run their business. The government will encourage parents to install censorship software on their PCs.
Cable TV and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service providers will issue bills with records of purchases of adult materials upon the agreement of their users.
A software program that detects specific body parts, the rate of nudity, and specific tone of voices on an image or clips is under development by the Electronic and Telecommunications Research Institute, a government-funded agency. Pornography censorship is “almost ready,” an official said.
Police also will also launch an intensive crackdown on explicit adult online content from May.
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