[Contribution] ‘Namu Wiki’ legal contradictions and the need for regulation

‘Namu Wiki’, which appears at the top of online searches, is currently recording traffic that overwhelms that of large media companies and is having a significant impact on the formation of public opinion. However, behind the collective intelligence that anyone can edit, there is a fatal side effect of the indiscriminate distribution of unverified false information and malicious rumors. Unlike established media that go through strict fact checks, the structure without even a minimal fact-checking process or an editorial manager has become a hotbed of serious legal disputes.

The biggest problem is evasion of the law through fragmentation of responsibility. Even if defamation or business damage occurs due to false information, it is not easy to realistically hold someone responsible. This is because it is difficult to identify malicious editors due to the nature of wikis where many people edit documents. The absence of identity verification and bypass access using a virtual private network (VPN) dramatically increases the difficulty of the investigation and ultimately leads to the ‘evaporation of responsibility phenomenon’, which causes victims to give up filing complaints.

Holding the platform accountable also has clear limitations. According to Article 44-2 of the Information and Communications Network Act, when information that infringes on the rights of others is distributed, the information and communications service provider has the obligation to delete the information or take temporary measures at the request of the victim. Accordingly, Namuwiki is also taking temporary measures (temporary deletion of documents) against rights-infringing information. However, the 'transparency report', which discloses the information and reasons for victims' requests for relief, is causing further harm. This is because it triggers the ‘Streisand effect’, which amplifies controversy by stimulating the public’s curiosity, and encourages secondary harm. Deleted documents can be rewritten after 30 days, so victims fall into the cycle of infinite deletion requests.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court has ruled that if an information and communication service provider makes a profit by neglecting defamatory posts, it can be held liable for joint tort by aiding and abetting (see Supreme Court decision 2008 Da53812, etc.). Namu Wiki, headquartered in Paraguay, generates enormous domestic advertising revenue while hiding behind its own ineffective regulations and allowing the re-distribution of illegal information, which misrepresents the purpose of precedent.

Even in this seemingly solid legal blind spot, there is a breakthrough to regain damaged rights. This is because some large law firms, including Daeryun Law Firm, where I belong, are providing services to track hidden perpetrators by simultaneously utilizing the legal systems of Korea and the United States. Specifically, it utilizes the U.S. court's discovery (evidence discovery) system to identify identity information of bypass users who accessed via overseas servers. Through this close cooperation between Korean and American lawyers, it becomes possible to take practical action to hold users hiding behind anonymity directly accountable for civil and criminal charges.

Of course, structural problems cannot be justified just because individual responses have become possible. Legislative and regulatory authorities must establish legal jurisdiction by strictly applying the domestic agent designation system to large platforms that avoid the law because they are overseas corporations. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to establish an institutional system that can impose effective sanctions in cases where platform management obligations under the Information and Communications Network Act are intentionally neglected. The rights and profits enjoyed by the platform must be accompanied by corresponding responsibilities.

● Contributions by external writers may differ from our editorial direction.

Gyeonggi Ilbo webmaster@kyeonggi.com

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[Contribution] ‘Namu Wiki’ legal contradictions and need for regulation (shortcut)