After the National Assembly passed the Terrorism Prevention Act, the number of people using Telegram, a foreign mobile messenger application has jumped. According to the statistics from App Annie, a mobile app market analysis firm, Telegram was the most downloaded app for iPhones in South Korea in the social networking sector and was the third most downloaded app among all mobile apps from March 3 until March 6.
This is a huge jump from February 28, when it ranked 273rd among all apps and 22nd in the social networking category. Its rankings in Google Play also jumped during the same period, from 332nd to twelfth overall and from 20th to second in the communication category. The explosive popularity of Telegram was triggered by the spreading fear that someone might be able to look into one's private life claiming to prevent terrorism.
Telegram uses an overseas server and is known for avoiding censorship and monitoring because it encrypts its messages. A massive online exile, which many had been concerned about, has become a reality.
After the lawmakers passed the Terrorism Prevention Act, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) sent out a press release and claimed, "Indiscriminately collecting personal information and monitoring civilians is impossible, so there is no need for ordinary citizens to worry about an invasion of their privacy." However, this failed to persuade even those among the ruling party. It's not just the opposition parties and the civil society downloading Telegram, it is also members of the ruling party. The aides of key pro-Park lawmakers, the staff of Saenuri Party lawmakers that strongly pushed ahead with the Terrorism Prevention Act, and even former and incumbent Cheong Wa Dae administrators are joining Telegram. Reportedly, more and more public officials from government ministries, the Prosecutors' Office and the police are also downloading the app. This shows that even people in the government and the ruling party fear the Terrorism Prevention Act. It is unsightly to see the intelligence service, which failed to gain the people's trust by fulfilling its duty, trying to persuade the public with words.
The intelligence service said, "The targets of information gathering is strictly limited," but those targets are determined by the director of the NIS. There is no suitable means to control the intelligence service, which can monitor anyone at will. Increasingly, the people are taking the risks of the anti-terrorism bill more seriously. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on March 2-3, 51% of the respondents opposed the Terrorism Prevention Act, much more than those who were in favor of the bill (39%). Citizens who had no special interest in the Terrorism Prevention Act have realized the truth about the bill after the opposition parties' filibuster, and this has reversed the once favorable public opinion.
The National Intelligence Service is an agency that carried out extensive illegal wiretapping and monitoring, violated human rights, and posted online comments in the last presidential election. In the process of enacting the anti-terrorism bill, efforts by the opposition party to provide a minimum safety device failed to reap any fruit. The NIS answers to no one when it comes to its budget and activities. If the intelligence service is to gain the people's trust, there is no other way but for them to actively cooperate in establishing measures to keep the agency in check and strengthen the monitoring of its activities such as turning the parliamentary Intelligence Committee into a standing committee.
This is a huge jump from February 28, when it ranked 273rd among all apps and 22nd in the social networking category. Its rankings in Google Play also jumped during the same period, from 332nd to twelfth overall and from 20th to second in the communication category. The explosive popularity of Telegram was triggered by the spreading fear that someone might be able to look into one's private life claiming to prevent terrorism.
Telegram uses an overseas server and is known for avoiding censorship and monitoring because it encrypts its messages. A massive online exile, which many had been concerned about, has become a reality.
After the lawmakers passed the Terrorism Prevention Act, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) sent out a press release and claimed, "Indiscriminately collecting personal information and monitoring civilians is impossible, so there is no need for ordinary citizens to worry about an invasion of their privacy." However, this failed to persuade even those among the ruling party. It's not just the opposition parties and the civil society downloading Telegram, it is also members of the ruling party. The aides of key pro-Park lawmakers, the staff of Saenuri Party lawmakers that strongly pushed ahead with the Terrorism Prevention Act, and even former and incumbent Cheong Wa Dae administrators are joining Telegram. Reportedly, more and more public officials from government ministries, the Prosecutors' Office and the police are also downloading the app. This shows that even people in the government and the ruling party fear the Terrorism Prevention Act. It is unsightly to see the intelligence service, which failed to gain the people's trust by fulfilling its duty, trying to persuade the public with words.
The intelligence service said, "The targets of information gathering is strictly limited," but those targets are determined by the director of the NIS. There is no suitable means to control the intelligence service, which can monitor anyone at will. Increasingly, the people are taking the risks of the anti-terrorism bill more seriously. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on March 2-3, 51% of the respondents opposed the Terrorism Prevention Act, much more than those who were in favor of the bill (39%). Citizens who had no special interest in the Terrorism Prevention Act have realized the truth about the bill after the opposition parties' filibuster, and this has reversed the once favorable public opinion.
The National Intelligence Service is an agency that carried out extensive illegal wiretapping and monitoring, violated human rights, and posted online comments in the last presidential election. In the process of enacting the anti-terrorism bill, efforts by the opposition party to provide a minimum safety device failed to reap any fruit. The NIS answers to no one when it comes to its budget and activities. If the intelligence service is to gain the people's trust, there is no other way but for them to actively cooperate in establishing measures to keep the agency in check and strengthen the monitoring of its activities such as turning the parliamentary Intelligence Committee into a standing committee.
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