Content Review Blind Spots Despite Provocative Themes Like Gangster Life
Top Domestic Super Chat Channels Actively Use Hate and Discriminatory Expressions
There are calls for sanctions against YouTubers who earn huge profits from provocative and hateful content. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Pixabay [Image source=Pixabay]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] A former organized crime member turned YouTuber who boasts about his criminal past as if it were a badge of honor, and YouTubers who maintain top earnings with hate and incitement content... There are growing calls to regulate YouTubers producing such provocative content.
According to the National Police Agency on the 9th, the number of 'jopok YouTubers'?YouTubers from organized crime backgrounds?has increased from zero in 2018 to nine as of August this year. This was revealed based on the 'nationwide survey results of each city and provincial police agency over the past five years,' submitted to Rep. Joe Eun-hee of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, by the National Police Agency last month. These YouTubers are characterized by glorifying their past lives involving serious crimes such as drug dealing, violence, and forced molestation of women, boasting about these exploits and receiving donations from viewers. This is made possible by 'Super Chat,' a content purchase platform where YouTubers receive real-time donations from participants during live broadcasts.
According to Playboard, a YouTube channel ranking and data analysis site, as of the 7th, the earnings from Super Chat by jopok YouTubers over the past five years (2017?2022) were estimated at approximately 530 million KRW for Myeongcheon Family TV, 350 million KRW for Changgi TV, and 180 million KRW for Park Hoon TV. These YouTubers consistently rank high in the Super Chat donation rankings, where viewers directly support creators.
They mainly focus on provocative topics related to organized crime, such as the lifestyle of gangsters and suspicions of collusion between the police and violent organizations. To increase views, they sometimes stage prearranged 'group fights' or film confrontations with police officers.
Regarding the background of jopok YouTubers appearing on personal broadcasts, Rep. Joe explained, "Due to the aging of traditional gangsters and a decrease in income sources such as protection fees from entertainment establishments, it has become difficult to make money solely from gangster life. Nowadays, there is a trend of moving to intelligent organized crimes like online gambling sites and voice phishing. Jopok YouTubers are part of this trend."
However, there is a lack of legal grounds to regulate YouTube operations themselves, making it difficult to control provocative content related to violent organizations. Most content from jopok YouTubers falls into blind spots such as age restrictions and content review. Currently, if illegal acts are discovered, investigative agencies like the National Police Agency can only impose post-facto regulations based on existing laws or strengthen content reviews through consultations with related organizations such as the Korea Communications Commission.
In this regard, Rep. Joe emphasized, "Strong responses from investigative authorities are needed, including measures to prevent former gangsters from opening YouTube channels and imposing sanctions such as age restrictions, in addition to post-facto regulation."
Meanwhile, a survey revealed that hate content by YouTubers using hateful and discriminatory expressions is becoming a source of income through the 'Super Chat' system. According to the 'YouTube Monitoring Report' released by the civic group Youth Participation Solidarity on the 8th, an investigation of the top five channels by Super Chat found 120 videos containing misogynistic or minority-hating content and provocative phrases.
The report states that the top five domestic YouTube channels by Super Chat earnings this year, including Garosero Research Institute and Gimhae Ggoma TV, earned approximately 68.77 million KRW through 120 hate content videos.
There are also criticisms that domestic regulations are not being actively enforced, effectively leaving the issue unattended. The group sent inquiries regarding YouTube hate content regulation to the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) three times between July and September through Rep. Jang Hye-young of the Justice Party. According to the confirmed data, the KCSC requested corrections from YouTube on only six hate speech-related contents from last year to June this year. The group stated, "National agencies responsible for internet communication monitoring, such as the KCSC, must actively work to rectify discrimination and hate issues within platforms."
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