The Broadcasting and Media Commission (BMC) faced scrutiny during a comprehensive audit regarding its responsibility to protect users from illegal and harmful content on global platforms. The BMC acknowledged the issues and pledged to respond rigorously.
On October 22, the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee held a comprehensive audit of the BMC.
During the audit, repeated instances of sex trafficking and drug-related posts on the platform X became a focal point. Lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae of the People Power Party questioned why illegal and harmful posts are sanctioned in Japan but not in South Korea. Catherine Lin, Senior Director of Global External Relations and Market Development for X in the Asia-Pacific region, responded that the platform operates under a policy of sanctions that applies uniformly across all countries, languages, and regions.
In response, Ko Kwang-heon, Chair of the Broadcasting and Media Review Committee, pointed out that while there are discussions with overseas platforms regarding corrective measures, X has shown very few compliance requests.
Lawmaker Cho urged that if X does not align its drug and sex trafficking posts with South Korean legal standards by the end of the year, all measures, including access restrictions, should be implemented. Ko agreed to this request.
Lawmaker Lee Joo-hee of the Democratic Party criticized Google for its delayed response to an incident involving the leakage of deletion requests from digital sex crime victims. She noted that Google had previously stated during the National Assembly audit that it blocked the leaked information from external sites within 24 hours and deleted it from its servers within 48 hours, but this was not the case.
Lee pointed out that the actual deletion was completed on September 20, and even victims who searched their names on September 15 and 16 still found their information online.
In response, Yoon Gu, CEO of Google Korea, stated that the company would ensure relevant information is reported to the BMC and the National Assembly in the future, and the BMC committed to ongoing monitoring.
The discussion also touched on Google's in-app payment system. Lawmaker Lee Jin-sook of the People Power Party highlighted that while Google's in-app payment costs average 4-6%, the company charges a 30% commission in South Korea. Yoon countered that 97% of South Korean app developers do not pay any commission, and the remaining 3% pay only 15%.
During the National Assembly audit on October 12, the BMC indicated that it plans to conduct a review and resolution regarding in-app payments within October.
Lawmaker Lee Joo-hee also raised concerns about repeated posts on Meta's Instagram that belittle individuals with disabilities and distort historical facts. In response, Heo Wook, Vice President of Meta Korea, stated that the company is making significant efforts to remove problematic content, and the BMC and the Broadcasting and Media Review Committee pledged to actively review such issues.
Additionally, discussions on regulating youth social networking services (SNS) took place. Lawmaker Kim Nam-kook of the Democratic Party inquired about safer usage options rather than a complete ban on youth SNS access, to which Chair Kim responded affirmatively.
Chair Kim stated, "Uniform and blanket sanctions are not considered appropriate, which is a common opinion," and noted that the committee continues to hold meetings with youth, parents, and educational experts.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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