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Political parties were bogged down in wrangling Friday over the Cyber Slander Act that would require people to use their real names when posting comments on the Internet and punish cyber-bullying. The ruling Grand National Party wants the bill in the name of human rights protection, but the main opposition Democratic Party has denounced it as undermining freedom of speech. Besides these ostensible reasons, the parties also base their stance on calculation of what serves them best on the Internet, where the progressives are more vociferously represented.
In a press conference, GNP floor leader Hong Joon-pyo said the party ¡°will make utmost efforts to realize the enactment of a law punishing cyber-bullying and requiring the use of real names in cyber space, which is sought by the government.¡± Hong¡¯s comments come in the aftermath of the suicide of actress Choi Jin-sil, which was apparently spurred by malicious rumors on the Internet.
But the DP in a statement by eight lawmakers on the Culture, Sports, Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly called move ¡°a threat to prevent the forming of public opinion against the government by monitoring and control of cyberspace.¡± As for the use of real names, it said users can already be traced through their IP address, and cyber-bullying is punishable even now under the Penal Code, Article 311 on contempt and Article 307 on defamation, and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, Article 70 on defamation.
The division is also driven by political calculation. An official with the GNP said, ¡°The reality is that leftists are taking advantage of anonymity to use the Internet as a place for their propaganda. In this situation it¡¯s hard for the government to run the nation, so measures should be taken to tackle the issue.¡± In other words, the ruling party wants to prevent another debacle such as the clamor over the import of U.S. beef, which was largely web-driven. The DP, by the same token, is opposed to the law since it would impose restrictions on the dissemination of its political ideas.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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