South Korea plans to pass a number of draconian laws in a desperate attempt to regulate the Internet.

The proposed legislation requires all news sites to follow the same restrictions as newspapers, TV and radio. All forum and chatroom users are required to create verifiable real-name registrations, while Internet companies will be forced to publicise their search algorithms in an effort to improve "transparency".

The Korean Communications Standards Commission has also been granted the authority to suspend the publication of articles suspected of fraudulent or slanderous content for a minimum of 30 days. Perhaps most shocking of all, Seoul has decided to subject innocent school children to government sponsored courses on proper Internet etiquette and ethics.

Jean K Min of OhmyNews International accused ruling party lawmakers and government officials of attempting to "save the deeply unpopular government by intimidating netizens from posting free online opinions with a variety of new legislation and legal threats."

However, South Korean president Myung-bak Lee defended the pending legislation as necessary to protect against "infodemics, a phenomenon in which inaccurate, false information is disseminated; prompting social unrest that spreads like an epidemic." 

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