Naver's Plan to Introduce 'Keyword Recommendation' Service
Fake News Task Force Reviews Countermeasures from Multiple Angles
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 14th that it will prepare multifaceted measures to dispel controversies surrounding bias and unfairness in major news portal sites.
The most closely watched issue is Naver's plan to introduce a 'keyword recommendation' service. Due to its nature of capturing real-time trends, there are repeated criticisms that it is a revival of the real-time rising search terms service. Daum and Naver had abolished the real-time rising search terms service in 2020 and 2021 respectively to quell controversies such as public opinion manipulation.
The 'Fake News Eradication Task Force' organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is reviewing countermeasures from various perspectives. The key basis is Article 10 of the Newspaper Act, which states, "News portals must strive to ensure that their basic policies, such as article arrangement, are faithful to the interests of readers."
Based on this, the Fake News Eradication Task Force discusses institutional improvements regarding the market-dominant influence and social responsibility of major news portals, securing algorithm transparency such as article arrangement, protecting user rights and remedies for infringements, creating a fair and cooperative environment between news portals and news providers, and ensuring diversity of public opinion. It will strengthen consultation channels with related ministries such as the Korea Communications Commission and propose legal and policy alternatives for creating a fair distribution environment for news portals in consultation with the National Assembly and experts.
A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official said, "We plan to examine even the social suspicion and criticism that major portals function as platforms for the consumption and distribution of fake news," adding, "We will urge news portals to prepare effective improvement measures and corrective plans regarding controversies and criticisms about bias and unfairness."
Minister Park Bo-gyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "We pay attention to the negative public opinion and national dissatisfaction that Naver, Daum, and others lack journalistic responsibility compared to their influence and impact," emphasizing, "'Influence and responsibility' as a journalistic sense of balance is common sense that is valid and necessary for any form of media or members handling news." He added, "We expect major news portals to strengthen their own countermeasures and improvement efforts regarding these controversies."
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