Progressive South Korean organizations, including the Collaboration Action Group Against Information and Communication Censorship, have called for worldwide protests over the enforcement starting July 1, 2001, of Internet content rating provisions of the Korean Communications Decency Act (KCDA).
According to the Korean Progressive Network (JinboNet), the Korean Ministry of Information and Communication (KMIC) slipped the provision requiring Internet content rating of all websites into the KCDA in April 2001, even though the content rating provisions were explicitly removed in response to protests prior to the original passage of the legislation last year.
The KCDA also apparently prohibits most forms of online protest starting July 1, such as posting protest messages on Internet message boards, sending many protest messages to one server (like the KMIC server), and virtual sit-ins, also known as denial of service (DoS) protests.
Prior to July 1, activists around the world, and hundreds of Korean progressive groups, are taking the following actions:
These Korean organizations have invited concerned international organizations and individuals to take action in solidarity with the Korean progressive movement.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is pleased to support JinboNet and the other Korean organizations opposed to government-mandated Internet content rating systems.
