YouTube users in South Korea may have to confirm their real identities to use the site in the near future. There is a law in that country that requires them to do so and would require Google to turn over information to the South Korean government when asked. The Hankyoreh explains:
The company plans to reorganize its site beginning April 1 so that subscribers in South Korea must confirm their real names before posting materials or replies on YouTube Korea. Concurrently April 1 is when the amendment to South Korea’s Act on the Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and User Protection will go into effect. It expands the scope of sites subject to the real name registration system to those that have at least 100,000 users per day.
This is just the kind of thing that doesn’t sit well with users of Google products. Joseph Tartakoff at PaidContent suggests that the company may be breaking their “Don’t be Evil” policy. He also has a quote from a Google spokesperson on the subject:
“Google Korea has … always (taken) the stance that Google respects local law/regulation but at the same time we continue trying to promote freedom of speech on the Internet.”
Tartakoff also suggests that Google caving here could set a precedent for how Google handles similar situations in other countries. South Korea is the first one for which Google will be collecting real-name info that can be used to identify individuals.
