Korea, marking the 70th anniversary of the nation’s liberation from the Japanese colonial rule, is at the forefront in terms of industrialization and informatization.
But the downsides of the Internet Era include the proliferation of false information, and defaming and fraudulent messages coupled with cyber crimes, including hacking and “smishing.” How to balance freedom of expression and the protection of people’s interests is the daunting task that the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) is grappling with to establish fair competition and market order in the broadcasting and communications sectors.
The following contains excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and Park Noh-ik, director general of the Consumer Policy Bureau at the Korea Communications Commission (KCC). In the interview, he spoke of his major bureau policies, including the ones to strengthen the protection of users’ interests and boost the use of personal information to promote the development of such new IT services as cloud and IoT.
Question: Will you tell our readers about policies to establish fair competition and order in the broadcasting and communications markets?
Answer: We’ve overhauled prohibited activities to establish fair competition and market order.
Prohibited activities infringing consumers’ interests according to the stages of their use, ranging from subscription to usage and termination, have been specified. Duties to notify consumers have been reinforced. Such types of prohibited activities as the offering of fair content, the prohibiting of discriminating commissions of outlets and the strengthening of distributing of profits of rational content have been inaugurated.
The KCC has introduced a consent decree system, a settlement to resolve disputes with operators’ volunteering to take steps to correct their activities without court judgment and meeting penalties. The system is designed to save costs and time involving legal battles.
We’ve introduced a voluntary observation program designed to help businesses abide by regulations on a voluntary basis such as inducement steps as the easing of penalty charges. We focus on investigating whether businesses put false, exaggerated and deceptive advertisements on convergence products and offer lottery goods discriminating subscribers severely and unfairly calculate costs and returns.
We probe whether there is any transfer of a controlling stake in the convergence market of broadcasting and communications by conducting an overall evaluation of competition situation.
Q: Will you explain steps to protect rights of broadcasting and communications consumers?
A: The KCC has enacted the Act on the Protection of Broadcasting and Communications Consumers in order to integrate prohibited activities that infringe consumers’ interests, which have been dispersed in separate laws and ramp up relief of damages.
We have introduced a standard guidance contract in which consumers can get a better understanding of such key concepts as installment money amounts, contract discounts and cancellation charges when singing up subscription contracts.
We’ve overhauled regulations on advertisements put on the Internet, which have been put into practice on a voluntary basis on the part of the private sector. The steps are designed to ramp up the efficiency of regulations on advertisements on the Internet and correct users’ inconveniences caused by floating advertisements.
The KCC investigates and punishes such activities undermining users’ interests as the un-issuing of non-face-to-face contracts via telephones and the Internet as well as the deleting of application for cancelling contracts, delaying cancellations and changes of service, and cancellation charges of convergence products.
Q: Will you elaborate on steps to protect personal information and boost its utilization?
A: In accordance with the revision of the Act on Information and Communications Networks, the definition of personal information has been redefined to enhance market predictability and transparency. We’ve created a requirement of not specifying personal data to harmonize the protection of personal information and its utilization. In some cases, consumers can change to an opt-out method.
We’ve worked out guidelines on businesses in the new IT service areas, including cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT), to utilize personal information in a safe fashion. In an effort to build confidence between businesses and users, the KCC supports the development of guidelines on the handling of personal information and transparency reports. We’re stepping up efforts to educate and publicize the protection of personal information, as is the case with the “016 Personal Information Keeper Campaign.”
In addition, we are conducting an inspection into whether businesses follow guidelines on the handling of personal information with regard to smartphone apps, big data and shopping areas.
Our inspection into the protection of personal information focuses on such personal information areas as webhosting, e-commerce and solution companies; such areas closely related to public lives as delivery apps and point management apps; and such positional information sectors as call-taxi apps and advertising apps. The KCC is checking whether businesses comply with requirements, including a one-year term for keeping personal information of dormant accounts, in accordance with the Act on Information and Communications Networks.
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A view of the World IT Show 2016 being held at COEX from May 17 to 20.
Q: Will you specify steps to promote the development of the location information industry and boost the use of location information?
A: In order to promote the development of the locationl information industry and boost the use of location information, a system that simplifies SMEs’ reporting conventional location information services has been introduced.
The KCC offers such support to location information start-ups as the exploring of creative business models and filling of patent application through new service contests and expertise consulting.
In an effort to boost the use of location information to promote the public interest, the KCC has conducted a test designed to prevent the loss of location information between smartphones and emergency rescue organizations in the case of emergency.
A Wi-Fi database for emergency rescue operations has been expanded to districts beyond the Seoul Metropolitan area.
Q: Will you explain efforts to build a sound Internet user environment?
A: Roles of such organizations of the private sector as the Korea Internet Self-governance Organization (KISO) and businesses’ self-screening are reinforced.
We’re checking into the enforcement of the requirement for installing mobile apps to prevent the circulation of lewd information to youth’s smartphones.
Anyone who has posted their digital information and whose access is shut as a temporary relief for an infringement of privacy and honor is given the right to appealthe case to a telecom service provider, which is required to refer the appeal to the process of compulsory arbitration. The step is designed to make freedom of expression harmonized with protection of rights. Real-time span shutdown services have been expanded to include mobile virtual network operators. We’re also looking into the enforcement of a regulation of requiring advertisement senders to confirm receivers’ consent every two years. Businesses are encouraged to comply with the requirement, based on the outcomes of the inspections.
