Korean apps' monitoring of children's smartphone use criticised by freedom advocates

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Korean apps' monitoring of children's smartphone use criticised by freedom advocates

Seoul regulator mandates installation of electronic sheriffs in devices used by youngsters

PUBLISHED : Sunday, 17 May, 2015, 3:17am
UPDATED : Sunday, 17 May, 2015, 3:17am

Associated Press in Seoul

A banner in Seoul promotes content-blockers. Photo: AP

Lee Chang-june can be kilometres away from his 12-year-old son but still know when he plays a smartphone game. With the press of an app he can see his son's phone activity, disable applications or totally shut down the smartphone.

The app, "Smart Sheriff", was funded by the South Korean government primarily to block access to pornography and other offensive content online. But its features go well beyond that.

Smart Sheriff and at least 14 other apps allow parents to monitor how long their children use their smartphones, how many times they use apps and which websites they visit.

Some send a child's location data to parents and issue an alert when a child searches keywords such as "suicide", "pregnancy" and "bully" or receives messages with those words.

In South Korea, the apps have been downloaded at least 480,000 times.

The number will likely go up. Last month the Korea Communications Commission required telecoms and parents to ensure Smart Sheriff or one of the other monitoring apps is installed when anyone aged 18 years or under gets a new smartphone.

Many countries have filtering tools for the internet but it is rare to enforce them by law. Japan enacted a law in 2009 but unlike Korea it allows parents to opt out.

Cybersecurity experts and internet advocacy groups argue that the monitoring infringes too far on privacy and free speech. Some warn that it will produce a generation inured to intrusive surveillance.

"It is the same as installing a surveillance camera in teenagers' smartphones," said Kim Kha Yeun, a general counsel at Open Net Korea, a non-profit organisation that is appealing against the regulator's ordinance to the Constitutional Court. "We are going to raise people who are accustomed to surveillance."

South Korea, one of the Asia's richest nations, is crisscrossed by a cheap, fast internet, and smartphone use is ubiquitous. Many Koreans get their first smartphone when they are young.

Lee said that having a control over his son's smartphone had been positive and increased dialogue in the family.

"What is important is that parents and children talk to each other and try to build consensus," Lee said. "I told him: We are installing this and father will know which app you use."

Legal experts, however, say South Korea's telecommunications regulator has taken the sweeping step of legalising the broad collection of personal, sensitive data that belongs to teenagers without any public consultation or consideration of the possible consequences.

Cybersecurity experts also warn that the apps could be misused and installed on phones without the owner's knowledge.

"It could be an official spying app," said Ryu Jong-myeong, CEO at SoTIS, a cybersecurity company.

To get around the regulations, some students say they will wait until they turn 19 to get a new smartphone.

"I'd rather not buy a phone," said Paik Hyunsuk, 17. "It's violation of students' privacy and oppressing freedom."