韩国宪法法院裁定网络实名制违宪

The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that a law requiring South Koreans to use their real names on Internet forums was unconstitutional, forcing the government to change the five-year-old regulation created to reduce anonymous criticism of politicians and celebrities.

韩国宪法法院周四裁定，要求韩国人须在网络论坛上使用真实姓名的法律违宪。这一结果将迫使韩国政府修改已经出台了五年之久、意在减少网民对政客和名人匿名批评的规定。

The court said the requirement amounts to prior censorship. It also said the law violated citizens' privacy, was technically difficult to enforce and was ineffective at stopping online criticism.

韩国宪法法院说，实名制的要求相当于事前审查。该法院还说，它侵犯了公民隐私，从技术上来说难以强制执行，也没有收到制止网络批评的效果。

The ruling came just three days after South Korea's Supreme Court recommended new penalties for people who spread false information online and on social media, such as Twitter, about politicians during an election campaign.

在宪法法院做出这一裁决之前三天，韩国最高法院还曾建议对那些在竞选期间在网上和推特(Twitter)等社交媒体上散播关于政治人物虚假信息的人处以新惩罚措施。

The seemingly conflicting actions reflect South Korea's twin status as a young democracy wrestling with limits and freedoms, and as one of the world's most technologically advanced countries.

这种看似矛盾的行为体现出韩国的双重身份：它一方面是一个仍在探索束缚和自由等观念的年轻民主制度，一方面又是全球科技最发达的国家之一。

Following Thursday's ruling, Google Inc. said it would restart its Korean language YouTube service, though it didn't give a specific date.

周四的裁决消息公布后，谷歌公司(Google Inc.)说，将重启该公司韩语YouTube服务，不过没有透露具体日期。

The real-name verification law has been unpopular with the public, the operators of major websites, and South Korea's big Internet search firms, NHN Corp. 035420.SE +2.10% and Daum Communications Inc. 035720.KQ -0.10%

对于韩国民众、主要网站运营商以及NHN Corp.和Daum Communications Inc.这两家韩国大型互联网搜索公司来说，这部实名制法规一直就不受欢迎。

South Korea created the law in 2007 in response to a number of incidents in which prominent political and entertainment figures were targeted in anonymous posts. Authorities attributed several suicides to such cyberattacks.

2007年，在发生了数起知名政界和娱乐界人士在网上受匿名者攻击的事件之后，作为应对，韩国颁布了这部法律。韩国有关部门还曾将几起自杀事件归因于这类网络攻击。

In its ruling, the nine-justice Constitutional Court also said harm done by a person's expression can be remedied through existing laws provided for financial damages and criminal punishment.

由九名法官组成的韩国宪法法院在公布裁决结果时说，个人言论造成的伤害可通过现行法律从经济损害和刑事处罚两方面进行救济。

Many Korean individuals and business had turned to overseas companies to host websites and services because the government said it couldn't enforce the name-verification law on Internet sites operated outside the country.

很多韩国人和公司都曾求助海外企业来开办网站和相关服务，因为韩国政府说，无法对韩国以外的网站执行这部实名制法律。

Google in 2008 closed its Korea-based YouTube site rather than comply with the requirement for people who uploaded videos. South Koreans since then have used YouTube sites based in other countries. NHN and Daum complained the rule made their video-sharing services less competitive.

2008年，谷歌没有遵守这部要求人们实名上传视频的法律，而是关闭了其韩语YouTube网站。此后，韩国人便使用海外YouTube网站。NHN和Daum均曾抱怨称，该法律削弱了其视频分享业务的竞争力。

NHN, operator of South Korea's most popular Web portal Naver, said the decision would have 'positive effects' and expand the use of its message boards. 'We think companies should make constant efforts to create an Internet environment anyone can feel secure to use by taking appropriate measures on comments that could invade someone's rights,' the company added.

NHN是韩国最具人气的门户网站Naver的运营商，它说这个裁决结果将会产生积极影响，并扩大该公司留言板的使用范围。该公司还说，我们认为企业应当对可能侵犯他人权利的网络言论采取适当的措施，以这种方式不断努力，营造一个让每个人都感觉安全的互联网氛围。