Government and Ruling Party Unveil 'Fake News Prevention Act' and 'Bill of Rights'
President's Determination to Eradicate Fake News... "Existential Threat"
Broadcasting Commission Joins In... Cooperation Begins to Prevent Fake News Spread
The government and ruling party have launched a war against fake news. This move follows President Yoon Seok-yeol's national policy stance that fake news threatens not only the lives of future generations but also the market economy based on liberal democracy. President Yoon has also expressed concerns on the international stage, stating that "there is a growing voice worried that fake news might threaten democracy and freedom."
First, the People Power Party decided to propose the 'Fake News Prevention Act' (an amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act) as a party bill to block the distribution of false and manipulated information. The amendment includes provisions such as ▲obligating information and communication service providers to prevent the distribution of false and manipulated information and to designate responsible persons ▲including false and manipulated information among illegal information prohibited from distribution on information and communication networks. In particular, it also includes detailed measures such as ▲allowing requests for deletion of information or posting rebuttals when rights are infringed by false and manipulated information ▲prohibiting the posting of false and manipulated information through macros (automatic input repetition) ▲submitting article arrangement algorithms to the relevant ministries and standing committees ▲imposing an annual obligation to submit transparency reports.
On the 26th, Park Dae-chul, the chairman of the Policy Committee, explained the background of the bill at a floor countermeasure meeting, saying, "False and manipulated information not only damages the fairness and transparency of the media environment but also causes serious defamation and invasion of privacy to the individuals targeted." The People Power Party pointed to cases such as the 'Kim Man-bae-Shin Hak-rim false interview suspicion,' stating, "This unprecedented major crime that could have changed the presidential election results was produced by a cunning mix of lies and distortions and was widely distributed and spread through the internet and left-wing media."
The government also presented a 'charter' for the digital deepening era that sets out basic principles to prevent the spread of fake news. The Ministry of Science and ICT unveiled the 'Charter on the Values and Principles of a Digitally Prosperous Society: Digital Bill of Rights' (hereinafter Digital Bill of Rights), which centers on these contents.
The Digital Bill of Rights is a charter that presents national-level standards and principles suitable for the digital deepening era and contains the basic direction of universal digital order norms. It consists of a preamble and a main text with six chapters and 28 articles. It includes many elements from President Yoon’s keynote speech at the 'Digital Vision Forum' held at New York University during last week’s UN General Assembly attendance.
At that time, President Yoon introduced the 'Digital Bill of Rights,' which normativizes the 'New York Initiative.' The basic principles include ▲guaranteeing freedom and rights in the digital environment ▲fair access to digital resources and equal opportunities ▲a safe and trustworthy digital society ▲promotion of digital innovation based on freedom and creativity ▲enhancement of human welfare. President Yoon added, "South Korea’s Digital Bill of Rights is a charter containing five major principles for the international community to jointly create the future digital society and will serve as a standard providing direction in the digital deepening era."
President Yoon’s determination to eradicate fake news is strong. This is because the existential threat posed by fake news can no longer be ignored. President Yoon warned, "There is a growing voice concerned that the digital divide may undermine human dignity or that the increasing fake news might threaten democracy and freedom."
The Presidential Office has also rolled up its sleeves. The judgment that fake news during the Fukushima contaminated water discharge process has rather harmed the public influenced this move. The Presidential Office recently referred to various investigation results following the contaminated water discharge, stating, "Although expected, as concrete and substantial figures have emerged, fake news and rumors have significantly decreased, and political attacks seem to have lost their strength." In particular, it also announced, "The government will continue to prioritize public health and safety and explain based on scientific evidence, and since emotional concerns remain, we will do our best to resolve them."
President Yoon becoming a victim of fake news also became a variable. The 'Kim Man-bae-Shin Hak-rim false interview suspicion' is a representative case. The Presidential Office strongly condemned the 'Daejang-dong false interview suspicion' involving Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and Shin Hak-rim, former chairman of the Media Union, calling it "an unprecedented major presidential election political conspiracy involving the main culprit of Daejang-dong and a journalist." It further stated, "This is the biggest political conspiracy of the 2022 presidential election, following the lineage of the Kim Dae-up political conspiracy and the Kiyang Construction lobbying fake exposure. The fabricated facts and the goal of the conspiracy were to defeat candidate Yoon Seok-yeol. Such political conspiracies and fake news distort public opinion and render the election system useless, posing the greatest threat to democracy."
The Korea Communications Commission is also taking action to eradicate fake news. The day before, the 'Public-Private Council for Fake News Response,' involving the KCC, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and domestic and international portal and platform operators, was launched. Portal and platform operators participating include Naver, Kakao, Google, and Meta. The council was formed as a follow-up measure to the 'Fake News Eradication Promotion Plan' announced by the KCC on the 18th. At the first meeting, it was decided to establish a fast-track based on voluntary regulation between the KCSC and operators to prevent the rapid initial spread of fake news.
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