The official Telegram channel that has been sharing new access addresses for “Newtoki,” an illegal webtoon and web novel distribution website, in real time has been blocked. As the Telegram distribution network, which has been pointed out as a key bypass means rendering the government's emergency blockades useless, has also been shut down, the all-out pressure on illegal websites appears to be further intensifying.
According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and related industries on July 5, access to the Newtoki address information Telegram channel has been blocked.
When attempting to access the room, the channel content is not displayed, accompanied by a notice stating, “This channel cannot be displayed because it violated local laws (South Korea).” Telegram has blocked access for domestic users on the grounds of violating South Korean local laws. This is the first time a related chat room has been blocked due to copyright infringement.
The channel in question is the official address information room for Newtoki, with around 40,000 subscribers. The management of Newtoki voluntarily closed the site ahead of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's implementation of the emergency blockade system in April, but similar sites have since continued operations by distributing new access addresses through Telegram. For this reason, even after the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued its first blocking orders against 34 illegal websites including Newtoki following the implementation of the emergency blockade system under the revised Copyright Act on May 11, the management evaded the blocking measures by frequently changing URLs.
Telegram has played the role of a gateway to bypass government blocking measures, such as automatically connecting to the Telegram channel when attempting to access a blocked address. However, pointers have continued that direct sanctions are difficult because Telegram is a foreign company.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has been requesting cooperation from Telegram in collaboration with related agencies, and this shutdown is understood to be the result of such cooperation.
The government's response to illegal websites is expanding its front lines to blocking site access, apprehending operators, and cutting off distribution networks. With the implementation of the emergency blockade system, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism can immediately issue a blocking order to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) upon detecting an illegal website. Furthermore, a man in his 30s presumed to be an operator of an illegal website was extradited to South Korea through an international coordinated investigation and was recently handed over to the prosecution. With the addition of blocking address sharing through Telegram, the scope of activity for illegal distribution organizations is narrowing.
Previously, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established the “Copyright Special Judicial Police Division” to strengthen investigative power against copyright violations. Starting August 11, a punitive damages system will be implemented to charge up to five times the actual damages for intentional and habitual copyright infringement, and the upper limit for criminal punishment will also be raised to imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 100 million won.
An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said, “The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is in the process of taking measures to delete Telegram channels in cooperation with related agencies,” adding, “It is an endless battle, but we are continuously making efforts.”
