보편적⋅사회적 권리로서 디지털 정보접근권 보장 -장애인의 OTT 서비스 이용 및 접근권을 중심으로-

Abstract

With the arrival of an intelligent informatization society through the the development of IT technology and the 4th Industrial Revolution, the basis for digital information access and media content enjoyment becomes more diverse. In particular, the non-face-to-face environment, which has grown rapidly due to COVID-19, is expanding the area of content as it converts broadcasting, communication, information, and media based on online platforms to the form of convergence. Accordingly, as the usage of media services based on online has been sharply increasing, OTT services be functioned as a venue for sharing not only cultural and media contents for a leisure but also various information contents such as policy, news, c urrent a ffairs, a nd e ducation i n t he f orm of v ideos. However, unlike the great growth of the industry, it makes more difficult for the disabled people in the use and access media and information services because the provision of OTT services continues to expand to services based on the convenience of non-disabled people. Especially, in the midst of an issue about information equality is raised as the matter of guaranteeing fundamental rights, the ‘information gap’ in intelligent information society acts as one of the reasons causing the social inequality. So, the information equality for the information vulnerable group needs to be interpreted as the right as a means to guarantee and the social rights for having a daily lives at an equal level. Therefore, this paper presents the basic role that the nation and private businesses should execute in the OTT service sector, in order to substantially guarantee the digital information usage and access rights of handicapped who are corresponding to information vulnerable groups. The United States and European countries have already expanded and strengthened the accessibility of digital media content services such as OTT services for the disabled since the 2000s. Also, they have implemented substantial security systems by specifying not only the accessibility obligations provision but also penal provisions. On the other hand, in Korea as well the importance of using and accessing digital information for the disabled and bridging the digital information gap is recognized, and related legal measures are prepared through related laws like informatization and welfare. But, it have to consider the speed of digital technology development, diversification of the needs and forms of use of digital media content service users, and changes in the technical and structural environment of the service industry. Through the serious consideration, the nation should take various legislative and administrative measures which guarantee subjective rights and prevent them from being excluded in rapid social change to ensure digital information access rights for the disabled at the same level that non-disabled people can access and use and utilize it. Particularly, establishing an integrated and consistent legal system through inter-ministerial cooperation should be prioritize since guaranteeing digital information access rights for the disabled is an area where technology and welfare are integrated. And the specific obligations should be imposed not only in the public domain but also in the private sector having a central role in digital environment. However, it should be sought to gradually expand the scope, content, and technical support of obligations or to support incentives for related businesses so that guaranteeing digital information access rights for the disabled does not act as another regulation to related technologies or industrial areas.