[The Editors' Verdict] Thoughts on Regulating Game Advertisements

Since 2018, issues regarding the provocative advertisements of certain foreign games have continued unabated. In fact, the provocative and violent expressions in some game advertisements, caused by overheated marketing in the gaming industry, are a foreseeable social issue. The problem is that, unlike broadcast or film advertisements, appropriate measures have not been taken due to the uncertainty of the national-level review system concerning game advertisements.

Attempts to introduce legal regulations on these problematic game advertisements have been ongoing since 2018. For example, in June 2018, during the 20th National Assembly, Representative Min Kyung-wook proposed an amendment to the Game Industry Promotion Act. While games are rated by the Game Rating and Administration Committee regarding their content, there was no institutional mechanism to filter game advertisements or promotional materials, leading to concerns that youths are exposed to provocative and stimulating game advertisements or promotional materials. The amendment mandated that game advertisements and promotional materials also be pre-checked by the Game Rating and Administration Committee for potential harm to youths. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also announced in May 2020’s 'Comprehensive Plan for Game Industry Promotion' that it would establish legal grounds to restrict inappropriate game advertisements. It is understood that the government is currently preparing legal regulations, including prohibiting various types of game-related advertisements, through amendments to the Game Industry Promotion Act.

When considering the issue of regulating game advertisements, the following points need to be taken into account.

First, games and game advertisements are separate media. Games and 'advertisements about games' are distinct media that can independently convey messages to users. For example, even if a game is rated suitable for all ages, its advertisement may contain content deemed socially inappropriate. This is because advertisements are created to appeal directly to consumers. Similarly, the Video Rating Board pre-checks the potential harm to youths of movie advertisements or promotional materials (such as movie posters) separately from the movie’s own rating for this reason.

Second, legal regulation of game advertisements should be avoided where possible, and self-regulation should be applied to maintain the economic and industrial functions of game advertisements while mitigating inappropriate expressions in some game advertisements. Advertising is the dissemination of ideas, knowledge, and information to an unspecified large audience and is protected under freedom of expression. Considering freedom of expression, the economic and industrial functions of game advertisements, and the advantages of self-regulation such as efficiency, flexibility, and expertise, autonomous pre- and post-review by professional self-regulatory bodies may be more effective than state-led pre-screening, which raises concerns about censorship.

Third, it is necessary to consider the ongoing social concerns raised in the media about game advertisements inappropriate for certain age groups being delivered to users through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which expose ads based on automated systems. Therefore, these social media platforms themselves need to review whether they are properly providing age-appropriate customized advertisements. Most game advertisements encountered on the internet ultimately stem from the automated systems of social media.

The gaming industry may worry about the contraction of the game industry due to game advertisement regulations. However, isn’t it said that crisis is another opportunity? By introducing a self-regulation system for game advertisements, beyond the already somewhat successfully established self-regulation for probability-based items, the gaming industry has a golden opportunity to further develop its self-regulatory capabilities.

Hwang Seong-gi, Professor, Hanyang University School of Law