Naver Self-Regulation Committee Releases 1st Activity Report... Rated "Very Excellent"

First Disclosure of Self-Regulation Operation Status Among Platform Companies

Naver announced on the 29th that the 'Naver User Protection and Self-Regulation Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Naver Self-Regulation Committee)' has released its first activity report detailing its activities and achievements since September of last year. Among digital platform companies, Naver is the first to operate a private self-regulation committee and transparently disclose the results.

The Naver Self-Regulation Committee was launched in September 2023 to establish an institutional foundation for user protection and service improvement in line with the dynamic digital environment. Through eight regular meetings, the committee supported the company in establishing a professional and systematic inspection system and preparing its own self-regulation measures.

The first activity report covers the committee’s activities over the past year since its launch. It focuses on seven key topics: ▲dispute resolution organization ▲terms of service revision ▲improvement of search product advertisement exposure algorithms ▲coexistence with small and medium-sized merchants and creators ▲seller management ▲dark pattern improvements ▲response to false and malicious reviews, addressing Naver’s status in user protection and self-regulation implementation.

Through the activity report, the Naver Self-Regulation Committee reviewed not only the measures discussed in its four subcommittees (User Subcommittee, Supplier-Client Subcommittee, Innovation Sharing & Governance Subcommittee, Data & Artificial Intelligence Subcommittee) but also the proposals from small business owners and consumer organizations, checking Naver’s implementation status. The committee evaluated the inspection results as being at a "very excellent level," emphasizing that Naver manages these matters autonomously and continuously.

Kwon Heon-yeong, Chairperson of the Naver Self-Regulation Committee, said, "Over the past year of the committee’s activities, we confirmed that Naver is actively striving to develop measures to protect users." He added, "As digital platforms become increasingly important, we will continue to support and monitor Naver through the committee to achieve the highest level of consumer and user protection standards as set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)."

Yoo Bong-seok, Head of Naver Policy/RM, said, "In the process of creating a healthier platform ecosystem, we were able to receive professional and systematic support through the Naver Self-Regulation Committee." He added, "We will continue to work with the self-regulation committee to create leading cases for user protection."