'Toxic clauses inserted to silence criticism of power'
By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business
People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won on Thursday criticized the revised Network Act, calling it "a devastating reality in which freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution in a free Republic of Korea is being trampled, and authoritarian-style internet control and totalitarian censorship phobia have become everyday life."
Na wrote on Facebook that ahead of the revised Network Act — which she dubbed the "July 7 Public Gag Law" — set to take effect Tuesday, "an 'online survival manual' is circulating among young people in their 20s and 30s." She said people are being forced into self-censorship, avoiding definitive statements and instead hedging with phrases like "there are claims that."
She acknowledged that "malicious online defamation and cyberbullying that destroy people's lives must be punished firmly, and special measures to protect the public from verbal violence — a silent weapon — are absolutely necessary." But she added that "the Lee Jae Myung Democratic Party administration, wearing the sheep's clothing of 'protecting innocent victims,' has cunningly inserted toxic clauses that ensnare even criticism directed at those in power."
Na went on to say that "the standards for what constitutes hate speech or incitement are vague at best," yet the law threatens major platform operators with punitive damages and fines of up to 1 billion won ($643,000), compelling them to proactively remove content. She said platforms seeking to avoid that risk "will ultimately have no choice but to read the room and fall in line with those in power."
Na said legitimate criticism of government policy or reasonable allegations could be labeled "fake news" and "cut out by an AI censorship net." She warned that the resulting chain reaction of "ruthless platform self-censorship" was "the true destruction of the public square that this law is designed to achieve."
She also said the law's essence was, in a word, "a nationwide gag on the public to cover up the crimes and shameful acts of the Lee Jae Myung Democratic Party, and an unconstitutional form of prior censorship." She said the law would "outsource truth adjudication to government-funded civic organizations acting as armband-wearing subcontractors, and legally silence voices that do not suit the administration's taste."
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
