Stronger Efforts to Block Online Information That May Encourage Suicide... Providers Required to Prevent Its Circulation

Amended Suicide Prevention Act Takes Effect November 12
24/7 AI Monitoring System to Identify High-Risk Posts

The responsibilities of information and communications service providers will be strengthened to block information that may encourage suicide from circulating online. A system to identify high-risk posts will also be launched, using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor online content around the clock.

On November 11, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention held a forum on strengthening responses to online information that may encourage suicide at voco Seoul Gangnam in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. They discussed key provisions of the amended Suicide Prevention Act and ways for the public and private sectors to work together to prevent the spread of such information online.

Under the amended Act on the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of a Culture of Respect for Life (Suicide Prevention Act), which takes effect on November 12, information and communications service providers will be required to take measures to prevent the circulation of information that may encourage suicide and submit the results to the government.

The law also specifies the Minister of Health and Welfare's responsibility for monitoring information that may encourage suicide. The government will monitor such information online and may request that information and communications service providers take necessary measures when clear instances are identified. In cases requiring an urgent response, it may also ask the heads of emergency rescue agencies, such as fire departments, to cooperate with investigations or rescue efforts.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will also launch this month an AI solution for monitoring information that may encourage suicide around the clock. Developed through the Ministry of Science and ICT's public AX project, the solution will establish an AI-assisted monitoring system. The aim is to enable monitoring staff to quickly identify posts that indicate a high risk of suicide and, when necessary, take follow-up action, such as reporting a need for rescue. The government plans to use AI to supplement the existing staff-centered monitoring system and improve the speed and efficiency of responses to dangerous online content.

Participants at the forum discussed not only the need to block information that may encourage suicide, but also the limits of regulation and future policy directions. Yoo Hyunjae, a professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Sogang University, said that as online platforms and the media environment change, the ways in which suicide-related information spreads are becoming more complex. He stressed the need for a careful response that takes into account the impact of suicide reporting and the spread of related information through the media on vulnerable groups, including adolescents.

"Efforts to restrict information that may encourage suicide should not be limited to simply deleting or blocking specific posts," Professor Yoo said. "In particular, effective cooperation is needed to prevent the spread of suicide-related information. This should include strengthening platforms' capacity for self-regulation and linking reporting systems with crisis response."

"Producing and circulating information that may encourage suicide is an obvious crime that threatens precious lives," said Lee Hyunghoon, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Second Vice Minister. "Responding to such information is a shared responsibility that goes beyond identifying and punishing a small number of offenders. The government, information and communications service providers, and society as a whole must work together." He added, "With this amendment to the law and the establishment of an AI-based monitoring system, we will bring together the capabilities of the public and private sectors to protect people's lives from information that may encourage suicide and help spread a culture of respect for life in online spaces as well."

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