[News Today] REGULATIONS FOR NAMUWIKI

[LEAD]
Calls for regulation are intensifying against Namuwiki, a Korean version of Wikipedia where the public can freely share all sorts of information about various things. The Korea Communications Standards Commission has blocked certain posts for privacy breaches. Politicians are also moving to amend laws concerning the site.

[REPORT]
Namuwiki, an internet knowledge-sharing site.

Its key feature is that anyone can contribute information, but this also leads to significant drawbacks.

Some of the posts contain false information that defames or invades privacy. The Korea Communications Standards Commission has stepped in.

Last month, it blocked access to two posts about personal information posted on the website.

The commission accepted a complaint about privacy violations in the post containing photos of the person in question with an ex-lover.

It was the first instance of blocking access to Namuwiki for privacy infringement.

Ryu Hee-rim / Chair, KCSC (Oct. 24, Nat'l Assembly)
We will strictly review, take stronger measures if such cases are repeated.

Authorities are also pushing for amending relevant laws to include Namuwiki's operator in the list of companies subject to domestic laws.

Kim Jang-kyom / People Power Party (Nov. 4)
The HQ is in Paraguay. They only communicate via email. We don't know who the owners are, they are not subject to domestic laws.

They are seeking a revision to the Information Network Act to require Namuwiki operators to designate a domestic representative.

Authorities are also considering imposing fines to retrieve profits from illegal information distributors.

However, there are concerns that such measures could infringe on freedom of expression.

Park Kyung-sin / Director, Open Net
A full block would infringe on the freedom of expression of people sharing information through the site.

Namuwiki says it implements the same temporary measures for posts as other domestic operators.