Default Deactivation of Comments on Political Articles
Chronological Sorting Introduced to Counter Manipulated Public Opinion
Naver is pushing for a major overhaul of its services, including the introduction of a "malicious comment index," to counteract harmful activities such as comment manipulation and coordinated targeting.
According to the "Naver News Comment Service Improvement Plan" released on October 13 by Assemblyman Yang Moonseok of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, Naver will completely restructure its platform, focusing on the politics section.
The comment section for political articles will be deactivated by default, and users will only be able to view comments if they actively choose "View All Comments" or "Go to Media Comments." In addition, if the number of likes or dislikes surges abnormally, the comment list will automatically close.
Naver had already limited the sorting method to chronological order last month. Moving forward, the company will introduce a "malicious comment index," and if the index exceeds a certain threshold, the comment window will be automatically deactivated or its exposure restricted. It is reported that Naver referred to Yahoo! Japan’s AI-based malicious comment scoring model, which was introduced in 2021, as a reference.
In accordance with the Information and Communications Network Act, Naver operates a "post suspension request service" for posts involving defamation or invasion of privacy, taking temporary action on an average of 15,000 to 20,000 cases per month. In April, Naver introduced a "user reaction surge detection system," which has detected more than about sixty surges in reactions to date.
Assemblyman Yang stated, "We must not stand by while public opinion is swayed by coordinated targeting from specific groups," adding, "As the nation’s leading portal, Naver must demonstrate responsible action."
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