KOREA BANS ONLINE PORN

Korea has ordered the nation's Internet service providers to put in blocks against pornographic content hosted overseas, NewsBytes says from Hong Kong - but there are those who say they may not be all that effective in the long run.

The country already has a ban on domestic ISPs hosting porn but that is said to have proven ineffective, with content providers hosting content on foreign servers.

"The idea," says Nam Hyung-ki to the Korean Herald, "is to make hardcore, violent, and perverted pornography illegal for all users, just as we do with printed material." Nam is a member of the Prime Minister's commission on youth protection. Korea has 26 Internet service providers.

The order is said to be taking effect early next year. Those ISPs who violate the ban will face up to two years in prison or fines of $16,880 - or, 20 million won - and the cancellation of their business licenses, NewsBytes says.

But industry insiders who spoke to the Herald say they doubt the measures will be effective. One says they're technically possible but there would always be loopholes by which a minor could use his parents or even his own name to click on.