Kim Jong-cheol, chairman of the Broadcasting and Media Commission, announced on October 12 that he will work to establish a safe digital and media environment by gradually revising laws to protect users of artificial intelligence (AI).
During a National Assembly Science and Technology Committee audit, Kim stated, "We will focus on protecting children and adolescents from deepfake sexual crimes, enhancing transparency in AI-generated content labeling, and improving recommendation algorithms."
He added, "To combat crimes that exploit AI, we have formed a consultative body involving 10 agencies this year. We will concentrate on enhancing our government-wide response capabilities."
Kim also explained plans to strengthen penalties for unfair practices, including the introduction of fines to recover illegal spam profits and increasing penalties for violations in the telecommunications market.
He emphasized the importance of realizing a 'basic media society.'
"We are implementing tailored media education for all life stages, from early childhood to old age, and enhancing AI and media competency training for youth and military personnel to counteract the negative effects of AI, such as deepfakes," he said. "We will also strengthen opportunities for the public to participate directly in media services and policies by improving the operation of viewer committees."
Kim highlighted the need to ensure that everyone can access media without discrimination, expanding the scope of broadcasting access rights to all individuals with disabilities and establishing obligations for online video platforms (OTT) to support broadcasting for the disabled.
He also addressed the recovery of public interest and autonomy in broadcasting media. Kim stated, "We are monitoring compliance with legal obligations, such as the formation of programming committees and the operation of public recommendation committees for CEO candidates, to ensure the revised broadcasting laws are effectively implemented." He added that to enhance the fairness and reliability of broadcasting, they will incorporate broadcasters' fact-checking efforts into evaluations and expand the collection of viewer opinions during re-licensing and re-approval processes.
Kim outlined plans for regulatory reform in the media and digital industries to strengthen competitiveness. He noted, "We are rationally improving outdated regulations by broadening the total volume of broadcast advertising and the scope of mid-program advertisements. We will also promote a negative transition in advertising regulations and improve ownership, cross-ownership, and programming regulations, while developing strategies to promote paid broadcasting."
Additionally, he stated, "We will support the overseas expansion of domestic OTT services and enhance the capabilities for producing media content based on AI and data."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.