Google scales back Korean YouTube

14 Apr 2009

Korea's real-name law means websites must confirm the identity of people through personal information, such as their real names and resident registration numbers.

Due to this Google has shut down some of the features of YouTube in Korea in order to avoid falling under the new South Korean law.

This real name law was passed on the 1st April. It was passed as an amendment to Korea's Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and User Protection Act and applies to sites with at least 100,000 users per day.

To avoid being subjected to the law, YouTube Korea shut down its video upload and comment functions. A notice said: "Because there is no upload function, users won't be required to confirm their identification."

Rachel Whetstone, VP of global communications and public affairs at Google, said on the same day that the company decided to scale back YouTube Korea's functionality because "freedom of expression is the most important value to uphold on the internet."

"We concluded in the end that it is impossible to provide benefits to Internet users while observing this country's law because the law does not fall in line with Google's principles," Whetstone said.

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