Korea Internet Self-Governance Organization (KISO) said on the 12th that it has prepared self-regulatory policy guidelines for story-based content such as webtoons and web novels.
KISO established self-regulatory policy guidelines for story-based content that include criteria for judging hate speech and inappropriate expressions within story-based content and the related review procedures.
The guidelines include basic principles of respecting creators' freedom of expression, preventing harm from hate speech, expanding voluntary participation by creators and users, and pursuing social diversity.
As specific criteria for judging hate speech, the guidelines present context, the likelihood of significant misperception, balance, tolerance for expression, and the weight of the expression as evaluation factors by item.
With these guidelines in place, Naver Webtoon and Kakao Entertainment may be required to take necessary measures within their services—such as modifying content or suspending publication—if KISO's review decision finds that digital content includes hate speech.
Kim Hyun-kyung, Chairperson of the special subcommittee on story-based content and a professor at the SeoulTech Graduate School of IT Policy, said, "Because KISO was founded to safeguard freedom of expression by ensuring autonomy from public regulation, we focused on setting review standards that can persuade users while respecting creators' freedom."
Earlier, on Jul., KISO held a board meeting and approved the memberships of Naver Webtoon and Kakao Entertainment.