Itaewon tragedy sparks debates on digital ethics

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Mon, October 2, 2023 | 11:26

Society

Itaewon tragedy sparks debates on digital ethics

Posted : 2022-11-07 17:11

Updated : 2022-11-08 14:55

Flowers and objects of condolences, including soju bottles, fruit and snacks, are placed at the police line in an alley leading to the site of a deadly crowd accident in central Seoul's Itaewon, Monday. The tragic event claimed 156 lives, including 26 foreign nationals from 14 countries, during Halloween celebrations on Oct. 29. Yonhap

By Lee Hae-rin

A Gyeonggi Province-based nurse surnamed Choi first saw the video of the deadly crowd crush on social media on Saturday night.

"The video of the crowd crush was traumatic. My job is to do CPR on people. Even with the best resources under a highly controlled environment, the moment of resuscitating a patient is one of the most impending and serious moments for medical personnel," she told The Korea Times on condition of anonymity.

"The video showed dozens of people doing CPR simultaneously on unconscious people in the middle of the street, while others dance to rhythmic club music in the background. I feel nauseous just thinking about it again," Choi said, underscoring that such videos should not be circulated online.

A 30-year-old elementary teacher based in Seoul who wished to be identified only by her surname Kim, was also traumatized by the footage of the disaster and worried that young children could be exposed to it.

"Even for a grown-up like me, watching the 10-second video brings me back a sense of horror and trauma. As an educator, I'm afraid that young children might see it on their smartphones and I hope that all related videos and photos are taken down from online platforms," she said.

According to the reports obtained by Rep. Jang Kyung-tae of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), over 100 requests have been filed to the Korea Communications Standards Commission to take down videos and pictures related to the Itaewon tragedy.

From the moment disaster struck, social media and online platforms have been flooded with unfiltered images and live videos showing dozens of victims lying unconscious in the street in various states of undress, while receiving CPR. Some images showed victims with their faces exposed without a blur to protect their identities.

The Korean Neuropsychiatric Association issued a statement on Oct. 30, the day after the disaster to warn the public of the psychological damage of being exposed to such imagery.

The statement read that spreading unfiltered footage of the accident could defame and victimize people affected by the disaster and called upon the public to stop sharing photos and videos.

Also, the association said watching such videos and photos could "trigger trauma in a majority of people," including those who were not at the site of the tragedy. "The association recommends refraining from watching related videos or news reports excessively and repeatedly, as it could harm one's health," the group said.

Meanwhile, online platforms have come up with countermeasures to control the circulation of such footage.

In related search results and video recommendations, YouTube has been prioritizing videos by reliable news channels. Some videos have been taken down or were given a raised age limit according to YouTube's content policy, the company said.

Twitter also asked its users to refrain from posting or sharing and to report sensitive content related to the Itaewon tragedy. According to the company's guidelines, users may be ordered to remove violent or sensitive content, and user accounts may be permanently suspended if the user violates the content policy again.

Experts emphasized the need to establish disaster-related ethics guidelines on digital content.

"For now, there are almost no guidelines on posting and sharing disaster footage on online platforms. Considering their far-reaching power of influence, these platforms should fulfill their social responsibility to come up with a manual," said Koo Jeong-woo, a professor of sociology at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul.

"Those who upload such content as well as those who consume it should also take efforts to keep a sense of ethics and consume digital content responsibly."

lhr@koreatimes.co.kr