(rap) Google Disables Uploads and Comments for YouTube Korea

After a string of incidents involving cyber-bullying, Korea enacted a Cyber Defamation Law on April 1st that compels all sites with over 100,000 unique visitors a day to implement registration requiring Koreans' real names to be verified with a national ID number. Google, taking a stand for anonymity, has refused to modify YouTube Korea's registration process, choosing instead to simply prevent Koreans from uploading or commenting on YouTube. However, they were thoughtful enough to post instructions on their YouTube Korea page about how to circumvent Korean law by changing user preference settings to another country.

The original news article can be found here:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/162989/google_disables_uploads_comments_on_you...

Google apparently considers itself above the law in the foreign countries it provides service to, actually encouraging their citizens to sidestep their own laws. Ironically, this outright refusal to honor the laws that other countries deem important is in Google's "commitment to openness" and "bias in favor of freedom of expression". In the end, Google's expression of opinion is the only one that seems to matter.

In the song I outline some events that led to the passage of the Cyber Defamation Law and examine the insensitivity of Google's decision. Just to be clear, I am not opposed to anonymity. That issue is simply secondary to the primary focus of this song, which is mutual respect.

For a 320kbps mp3, visit:

http://journalrhythm.blogspot.com/2009/04/google-disables-uploads-and-comment...

These are the lyrics:

yo we all know people like talking smack
online but in Korea they got bullies on crack
"Oppa" is a word they use for big brother
but instead of the government it's every other sucker

if you even neglect to clean up your dog's poo
someone'll take your picture post it on the net and find you
asking around for your name and address
where you go to school and wherever you go next

they'll make you so well-known you'll have to drop out
pack up all your things, move into a new house
you think I'm making this up? it happened in '05
the victim was lucky she didn't turn to suicide

but for an actress like Choi Jin Sil
if everyone was trashing you then how would you feel?
and a month before that it was Ahn Jae Hwan
both movie celebrities now both of 'em gone

pushed to the limit by people on the internet
you can't makes arrests when no one's innocent
but you pass a law on Cyber Defamation
requiring online ID registration

and that's what happened but Google ain't having it
saving anonymity by straight up cancelling
every Korean's ability to contribute
videos and comments on NotYouTooTube

then they made a post on their very own website
"everything's fine guys, everybody just lie, alright?
change your preferences to a nation that's not yours.
just like you were forced to before in other wars."

YouTube imposes ideas on Korea
at the same time saying "don't post yours, either!"
that's some hypocritical political bull
and after 8 years of Bush I'm full

go ahead tell your friends join a petition
YT won't feature me so who's gon' listen?

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• youtube
• korea
• disables
• uploads
• comments
• cyber
• defamation
• law
• choi
• jin
• sil
• ahn
• jae
• hwan
• google
• 최진실
• 안재환

[journalrhythm]

It ceases to be an intelligent conversation when you start off summarizing me saying something completely different, then end up rewording what I actually said in your last sentence as if it's your own.

[kefkakrist]

So effectively what Google has done is disabled their S Korean YouTube and notified the S Korean people that (because of the way the internet works) they can still reach Google's international YouTube web site.

I guess the alternative would be for Google to actively prevent Koreans from reaching the international YouTube sites... but I think you'd be even more angry about that.

[journalrhythm]

The real arrogance here is that Google thinks its ideas about anonymity are too important to compromise on, effectively saying to Korea "your laws are not worth implementing into the version of our site we made for your country, so you'll play by our rules".

[kefkakrist]

There is no compromise when it comes to the law - you abide it, or you leave or you face the consequences.

I personally think it was very brave of Google to do what it did. From a business standpoint it would be trivial to comply with this law - just setting up one database. But they are sticking to their principles, and sacrificing their business interests instead of going along with this abridgment of human rights (privacy).

[journalrhythm]

What a sacrifice of business interest that is... asking Koreans to continue to use their website. lol

This issue has arisen because a human right (privacy) has been breached time and again by anonymous internet users in Korea. If Korea decides that protecting privacy needs to come at the cost of risking your own privacy when you invade someone else's, so be it. That's how real life works offline, when people can see your face. Maybe Google will mail out masks next, and they'll be "brave".

[kefkakrist]

Well bottom line, I don't even see why Korean users should have to change their preferences. If Google doesn't operate servers in S Korea, then they aren't in the jurisdiction of S Korea. So I would think that if they just remove any servers from S Korea, their asses would be covered.

Of course I'm not stupid - I realize I must be wrong, otherwise Google wouldn't have gone to the trouble of disabling commenting and redirecting S Korean users. But that's what I have been trying to understand.

[onlyneko]

Koreans were very active commentators here on this site..........

[kefkakrist]

I wasn't summarizing anything - i was asking if I understand you right. Seem I don't. I really don't know what part of what Google did that you're upset about.

I think it is indisputable that a multinational company has every right to discontinue service in a country if they can't or won't comply with the local laws.

I believe that's what Google has done.

The only thing that I can see that they might be wrong about is referring people to an alternative that is their own site.

[kefkakrist]

So what you're complaining about is Google saying Koreans can still use the non-Korean YouTube site? You would be happier if they either lied about, or omitted, Koreans' ability to use the international YT web sites?

I assume you agree that Google has the right to suspend their Korean web site (which is effectively what they have done) and thereby alleviate the need to comply with Korean laws. Whether or not they "should" refer people to their non-Korean web site is, of course, murkier.

[kefkakrist]

Okay, I can't duplicate the alleged problem, but here's my thought:

Google is not asking anyone to lie. Setting your "Content Preference" does not mean "This is where I live". It also doesn't change the language of the web site, so Korean people could switch to "Worldwide" Youtube and still navigate. I can browse the Korean web site in English if I want to - language and content preference are separate settings.