Samsung Electronics ends anonymity on internal message board after repeated abuse

Samsung Electronics has removed employees’ ability to post anonymously on its digital message board for internal communications after more than a decade, following concerns involving abusive language, personal attacks and false information.

A revised law that took effect last month and strengthened accountability for illegal activity on internal message boards is also believed to have influenced the decision.

Samsung Electronics notified employees on Friday that its internal message board, “NOW Talk,” would switch from an anonymous to a real-name system starting at 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday, according to industry sources on Monday.

Under the new policy, employees’ real names appear on all of their posts and comments. The policy does not apply retroactively to existing posts.

Samsung Electronics has operated NOW Talk since the early 2010s. The platform allowed employees to freely express their opinions without worrying about the company’s reaction. Samsung Electronics, however, decided to change the system after employees repeatedly took advantage of the anonymity to attack colleagues and spread unverified information.

“There have been repeated cases of employees undermining our internal communications [systems] by using anonymity to disparage others or spread unverified information,” Samsung Electronics wrote in the notice. “Violations of employees’ rights on the internal message board have become increasingly serious due to [posts’] abusive language and personal attacks […] and we recently received guidance from the Ministry of Employment and Labor to improve workplace harassment practices.”

Along with the switch to a real-name system, the company said that it plans to create a safer communications environment. 

The change comes after the revised Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection took effect last month. The amended law expands the scope of illegal information — specifically on information and communications networks — prohibited from distribution. It also bans the distribution of false or manipulated information when the person knowingly spreads the misinformation and it infringes on another person’s personal or property rights.

Those who cause harm to others by spreading such information can be held liable for damages — up to five times the amount of actual losses when certain conditions are met.

Samsung Electronics plans to continue monitoring NOW Talk for violations of employees’ rights and breaches of its operating rules after introducing the real-name system. The company plans to make additional changes to the message board if problems persist.

BY PARK JONG-SUH [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]