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ONI Country Profile 359 95 97 profession, and identification number. This policy was tightened further by the MIC in July 2007 when users were required to register their real names and resident iden- tification numbers with Web sites before posting comments or uploading video or audio clips on bulletin boards. In December 2008, the KCC extended its reach to require all forum and chat room users to make verifiable real-name registrations." Furthermore, an April 2009 amendment to the Information Act took effect, requiring Korea-domain Web sites with at least 100,000 visitors daily to confirm personal identi- ties through real names and resident registration numbers.98 Previously, real-name registration was required for news Web sites with more than 200,000 visitors a day or portals and user-generated content sites with over 300,000 daily visitors." Rather than comply with the new registration system, Google disabled the features on the Korean- language YouTube site (http://kr.youtube.com) for uploading videos and comments. 100 The real-name registration provisions of the Public Official Elections Act were unsuc- cessfully challenged in July 2010 when the Constitutional Court found that the requirements did not violate principles against prior censorship and that they worked to prevent "social loss and side effects which arise out of the distortion of public opinion."101 99 In 2010, Facebook faced scrutiny from the KCC, which found that "Facebook vio- lates the regulations on protection of privacy in information networks." 102 The KCC required Facebook to submit related documents and make improvements in line with the nation's Information and Communication Law-specifically Article 22 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and Informa- 104 tion Protection. 103 This article requires information and communication service pro- viders to gain consent when gathering users' personal data.' Facebook indirectly responded by reciting the principle of its company that "the users have control of their personal information."105 Amendments to the 2007 Protection of Communications Secrets Act established extensive data retention requirements and expanded the government's surveillance capabilities. 106 These amendments require telecommunications companies and ISPS to retain access records and log files (including online transactions conducted; Web sites visited; time of access; and files downloaded, edited, read, and uploaded) for at least three months, along with date and time stamps, telephone numbers of callers and receivers, and GPS location information for 12 months. 107 The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) criticized these amendments, particularly the use of GPS information to locate users and the imposition of penalties for service providers who refuse to comply with requests for information despite existing provisions that allow gathering of evidence by search and seizure in ordinary investigations. 108 In 2008, three years after a scandal over the illegal wiretapping of the cell phones of influential political figures forced them to destroy their equipment, the National

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