SEOUL (The Korea Herald/ANN): South Korean lawmakers are seeking legal means to limit exposure of “algorithm-driven” content to children as concerns over the influence digital content has on minors grow.
In March, two lawmakers, Representative Lee Yeon-hee of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Representative Hwang Un-ha of the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, floated bills to restrict the personalised recommendation functions powered by artificial intelligence algorithms on social media for minors.
Both are revisions to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. One of the two bills, by Democratic Party’s Lee, was tabled to a sub-committee-level meeting on March 24 at the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.
These bills are designed to grant the media watchdog Korea Media and Communications Commission the authority to impose a set of obligations on social media platform operators, by providing a legal definition of social network service providers, which does not yet exist in South Korean law.
The revision would penalise social media platforms if they fail to verify a user’s age, and require them to restrict algorithm-selected content without parental discretion for users aged under 19.
In addition to Mr Lee’s bill, Mr Hwang’s bill proposes that the media watchdog come up with guidelines to stem adolescents’ use of social media. It also proposes that social media platforms inform adolescent users of the risks of social media addiction through push notifications.
Mr Hwang’s bill was designed to grant social media platforms greater responsibilities without restricting adolescents’ basic rights, an official of his office said, adding that bills that are solely focused on regulating platforms would create a regulatory haven.
Meanwhile, the government is taking heed on the impact of children’s growing exposure social media.
According to the Science Ministry’s 2025 survey on 10,000 South Korean households released on March 26, 43 per cent of South Korean adolescents aged between 10 and 19 were either prone to smartphone overuse or already at the high-risk group, up by 0.4 percentage points compared to the 2024 figure.
The Science Ministry cited the changing digital environment, amid growing popularity of short form videos and generative AI services on social media. The figure for adolescents has been on a constant rise since 2018, when it came to 29.3 per cent.
By contrast, the overall figure for all respondents aged between the ages of 3 and 69, stood at 22.7 per cent, and it has been on a steady decline for the past five years since 2021.
The Science Ministry said in a statement that the government would provide state support for digital detox programmes and in-school counselling services for children at high risk of addiction. -- THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
