An individual who wrote insulting comments about the members of the virtual K-Pop boy group PLAVE has been ordered to pay damages for violating the members' rights.
Last month on May 14 KST, judge Jang Yoo Jin of the Uijeongbu District Court concluded that an individual known as 'B' was guilty of insulting the 5 members of PLAVE, constituting a "violation of human rights". The judge ordered 'B' to pay each of the members 100,000 KRW (~ $73 USD) as compensation for damages. The judge claimed, "The use of avatars in the age of the metaverse may be considered another means for users of technology to express themselves and communicate with others. In that sense, insulting the avatars may be seen as equivalent to insulting the actual user behind the avatar."
Previously in July of 2024, 'B' uploaded several posts and videos insulting PLAVE while also raising accusations regarding the identities of the real-life individuals behind the virtual idol group members. In response, the 5 members of PLAVE filed a lawsuit against 'B' through their agency.
During the trial, 'B' then claimed that the insults made in the posts and videos "were not directed at the real-life individuals behind the virtual characters, therefore, they cannot be considered accounts of offense." However, the judge rejected this claim, refuting, "An individual can still be offended even when their real names or any specific names referring to that individual or group are not used. Furthermore, if others can identify the individual based on context, it must be seen as an account of offense against that specific individual."
Finally, the judge concluded, "If the identity of the avatar user is widely known or public information, accounts of offense committed against the avatar must be seen as equivalent to accounts of offense committed against the real-life user. In the case of PLAVE, regardless of the agency's current stance or policies, the real-life identities of the members have become information readily available to the masses. When considering the fact that 'B' also committed the offenses in question with that information in mind, it must be concluded that 'B' specifically targeted the plaintiffs."
The above case has now become the first of its kind to rule that malicious insults directed at virtual avatar characters can constitute insults directed at the real-life users behind them, setting a precedent for future court proceedings.
Meanwhile, PLAVE debuted in March of 2023 with the release of their 1st single album, 'Asterum'. The group consists of 5 members: Yejun, Noah, Bamby, Eunho, and Hamin.
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