Ministry targets spam, porn sites

The Ministry of Information and Communication says it will step up action to counter and punish owners of pornographic Web sites and senders of unsolicited spam e-mail. Measures being considered include establishing an e-mail service for children only, and freezing funds paid to pornographic Web sites by subscribers. The ministry said it was also planning to set up a hotline for Internet users to report unsolicited spam e-mail. Shin Yong-sup, a communications inspector of the ministry, said his department was investigating the introduction of an opt-in e-mail system through which advertising e-mails could be sent only to those who accept them. He added the ministry would consult the public before it proposed introducing such measures.