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Mon, June 27, 2022 | 14:08
Online real-name system unconstitutional
헌재 "인터넷 실명제 위헌"
Posted : 2012-08-23 21:57
Updated : 2012-08-23 21:57
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By Yun Suh-young

The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the Information Communications Law requiring the use of real names online was unconstitutional, setting the stage for scrapping the policy which was implemented in 2007.

The court made a unanimous decision that the law violated people's freedom of speech.

A petition filed by "Internet Media Today," an online media company, among others in 2010, claimed that the law was discriminatory.

Until now, websites with more than 100,000 visitors per day required users to authenticate their identities by entering their resident ID numbers when they used portals or other sites.

The policy was set up in an effort to curb malicious comments online that had led, in cases, to people committing suicide.

"The system does not seem to have been beneficial to the public. Despite the enforcement of the system, the number of illegal or malicious postings online has not decreased," the court said in its verdict.

“Instead, users moved to foreign websites and the system became discriminatory against domestic operators. It also prevented foreigners who didn’t have a resident registration number here from expressing their opinions online."

Meanwhile, the court upheld the law that punished midwives who conducted abortion on pregnant women, saying that it was constitutional.

헌재 "인터넷 실명제 위헌"
"표현의 자유 막을 만큼 공익 효과 없다" 악성댓글 폐해 막으려 도입, 5년만에 폐지될 듯 인터넷에서 표현의 자유를 침해한다는 비판을 받아온 '인터넷 실명제'에 대해 위헌 결정이 내려졌다. 헌법재판소는 23일 일일 평균 이용자 수가 10만명 이상인 인터넷 사이트 게시판에 인적사항을 등록한 뒤에야 댓글 또는 게시글을 남길 수 있도록 한 정보통신망 이용촉진 및 정보보호 등에 관한 법률 44조 1항에 대해 제기된 헌법소원 사건에서 재판관 8명 전원 일치 의견으로 위헌 결정을 내렸다. 이에 따라 2007년 7월 악성댓글 등에 따른 사회적 폐해 방지를 위해 포털 게시판 등을 중심으로 도입된 인터넷 실명제가 5년여 만에 폐지되게 됐다. 헌재는 "표현의 자유를 사전 제한하려면 공익의 효과가 명확해야 한다"고 전제한 뒤 "(인터넷 실명제) 시행 이후 불법 게시물이 의미있게 감소하지 않았고 오히려 이용자들이 해외사이트로 도피했다는 점, 국내외 사업자 간 역차별 문제가 발생했다는 점 등을 고려하면 공익을 달성하고 있다고 보기 어렵다"고 지적했다. 헌재는 이어 "자유로운 의사 표현을 위축시키고 주민등록번호가 없는 외국인의 인터넷 게시판 이용을 어렵게 한다는 점, 게시판 정보의 외부 유출 가능성이 증가했다는 점을 고려하면 불이익이 공익보다 작다고 할 수 없어 법익의 균형성 역시 인정되지 않는다"고 설명했다. 헌재는 본인확인제를 규율하고 있는 이 사건의 법령 조항이 과잉금지원칙에 어긋나 표현의 자유, 개인정보 자기결정권, 언론의 자유 등 청구인의 기본권을 침해한다고 지적했다. 손모씨 등 청구인들은 본인 확인 과정을 거친 뒤에야 인터넷 게시판에 댓글 등을 게시할 수 있도록 한 법 조항이 표현의 자유 등을 침해한다며 2010년 헌법소원심판을 청구했다. 인터넷 언론사인 '인터넷 미디어오늘' 역시 방송통신위원회가 2010년부터 본인확인조치의무 대상자로 공시하자 언론의 자유 등을 침해한다며 헌법소원심판을 냈다. (연합뉴스)
Emailysy@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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