By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

Google's decision to bypass local censorship laws may contribute to inciting Internet users to flock to foreign sites as a means of avoiding censorship.

Google has a miniscule presence in the country where domestic Web sites such as Naver (www.naver.com) and Daum (www.daum.net) are the key players.

Internet users are increasingly concerned about the level of Web surveillance here and many bloggers are contemplating ``cyber exiles.''

``Not so many users go to foreign sites,'' said an official from Daum.

``However, if their Web activity is suppressed more, more and more users could become more willing to venture out of their habits and try other things. And Google may benefit from its clearer position in the long run.''

Last week, Google disabled South Korean users from uploading videos and posting comments on the Korean version of its online video service, YouTube (kr.youtube.com), in order to avoid the requirements for real-name registration of users.

However, since the changes are only effective for YouTube's Korean-language site, domestic users are still able to post videos on it if they set their country preference to one other than South Korea.

Since April 1, Korean Internet users have been required to submit their names, resident registration codes, the Korean equivalent of social security numbers, and other verifiable personal information for posting files or commenting on Web sites with more than 100,000 visitors.

Although the government argues that strengthened real-name verifications are vital for curbing ``cyber bullying,'' critics claim that the new rules may suppress legitimate online speech.

And with tech-savvy Internet users turning to foreign Web sites in search of safe havens, Google is no longer the ugly, unpopular kid in the back of the classroom.
Some bloggers are also considering establishing their own sites based on a foreign server. They include users of Agora, a political discussion board on Daum and often a seedbed of anti-government criticism.

More than 5,000 members are subscribed to a new Web community of Agora users (cafe.daum.net/naneonneonaism), established last month to discuss the possibilities of online asylum.

Since being the center of Web protests against the government decision to resume U.S. beef imports last year, Agora has been a frequent target of law enforcement authorities.

Following the arrests of some anti-globalization bloggers last year, police questioned and seized the computers of three Agora members last month on suspicion of ``business disruption,'' after they inflated the hit counts of their articles by jamming the F5 key.

``Let's establish an exile government in Google,'' wrote a blogger using the name ``yayagom.''

``I guess the government will continue to stress English education because it wants to drive out everyone who doesn't agree with its Internet regulations to foreign sites.''

Another blogger, ``Neukho,'' wrote, ``The results of producing our resident registration numbers are so far limited to privacy leakage and telephone scams. If a world produced by increased surveillance is the new order, I would opt for a digital asylum where anonymity still exists.''

Complying with the Korean real-name rules would have been an enormous risk for Google. The government could later demand user information from the company.

However, crippling YouTube's Korean site also represents a setback to Google's recent efforts to customize its Web services for Korean users and move up in the industry pecking order.

Google also enjoyed a temporary spurt in traffic following the government's clampdown on Web protests last year. Unlike Korean Internet companies, which showed little resistance in handing over their user information to authorities, Google Korea managed to avoid doing so, since the personal information of its users is kept on American servers.

The real-name registrations are only subject to Web services directly operated by the company, which includes services such as YouTube or Agora, but not e-mail, blogs and member-only Web communities.

Most Korean Web sites, including Naver and Daum, are mandating their users to submit their resident registration numbers for e-mails, blogs and Web communities. They have not introduced separate subscription systems for different services.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr