"n-beonbang Law Enacted, but..." What to Do About the 'Porn Flood' on Overseas SNS

Controversy Over Posting 'Yeohaeng-e Michida' Pornography
Serious Sharing via Overseas SNS Links

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The YouTube channel 'Yeohaeng-e Michida,' which has 410,000 subscribers, has once again brought the issue of obscene content on social media to the forefront by posting sexual videos on its Instagram account. In particular, CEO Jo Jun-gi of Yeohaeng-e Michida revealed that he downloaded obscene material from Twitter, raising concerns about obscene content on overseas social media platforms following the 'Nth Room incident.'

According to industry sources on the 8th, after the 'Yeohaeng-e Michida' incident on the 29th of last month, obscene material was also posted on the Facebook account of Park Jae-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 6th. Both CEO Jo and Park’s side admitted the mistake and issued apologies, but the controversy has not subsided.

The Impact Is Too Large to Be Seen as Mere Deviance

The impact of a public figure’s social media is too significant to simply dismiss as individual deviance. Above all, the explosive increase in social media account users makes it difficult to control such obscene content once it is posted. Due to the nature of social media, content spreads rapidly. It also takes considerable time to implement access blocking measures. By the time corrective actions are taken, most people who want to see the content have already seen it. This is because platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are overseas operators, and the process involves notifying domestic network providers to take corrective measures. In fact, the obscene content on Yeohaeng-e Michida was deleted only after protest comments were posted, and the obscene material on Park’s Facebook account remained for about 10 minutes.

Another problem is that obscene or illegal sexual exploitation videos can be easily found through overseas social media. Twitter, which CEO Jo Jun-gi identified as the source of the videos, currently allows links to overseas obscene sites to be uploaded without filtering. Searching for terms like 'Titleless,' 'Deviant,' or 'Skin-colored' easily leads to obscene content without adult verification. Compared to Google or YouTube, Twitter’s own filtering functions are weaker, and it is possible to bypass filters by accessing through search portals.

Platform Operators Must Strengthen Self-Regulation

Although regulations on obscene content have been strengthened since the Nth Room incident, there are calls for more monitoring personnel. The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) issues corrective demands to remove 'prostitution and obscene information' distributed on social media. The corrective demands from KCSC include deletion, termination of use, and access blocking. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) can order access blocking for overseas operators. However, due to a shortage of monitoring personnel, it is practically difficult to respond quickly to obscene postings. Although regulations have been strengthened since the Nth Room incident, one reason is that the KCSC and KCC focus their reviews and regulations on domestic traditional media such as terrestrial broadcasting, paid broadcasting, and home shopping, and there is a lack of dedicated personnel for new media like overseas social media.

An industry insider said, "Overseas social media platforms are trying to prevent the distribution of adult content through self-regulation and international cooperation, and they regulate according to their own filtering measures, but no matter how quickly they respond, it is only an after-the-fact measure," adding, "Efforts are needed to strengthen the self-regulation and self-purification capabilities of platform operators."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.