Report & Moderation Policy
This English version is a reference translation provided for convenience. The Korean original prevails, and the service is governed by the laws of the Republic of Korea. (이 문서는 한국어 원문을 기준으로 하며, 대한민국 법을 따릅니다.)
This document describes what Starpl looks at, how it makes decisions, and what actions it takes when a report is received. What counts as a violation is described in the Community Guidelines, and the authority for moderation is set out in Articles 10–12 of the Terms of Service.
1. Five promises
- We only look at what's visible. Anyone who can see a piece of content can report it — public posts by anyone, star-friend posts by that star friend. Only-me (private) posts are not subject to reports because only the author can see them, and the operator does not access them.
- A person makes the final call. Public posts may go through automated first-pass screening (on the operator's own local systems), but the final decision on hiding, removal, or sanctions always rests with a human. Automated classification can be wrong and is used only as a supporting tool.
- We don't look around without reason. The operator (human) only reviews what has been reported and does not access unreported posts at will. Automated screening also applies to public posts only — only-me and star-friend posts are never screened.
- We hide, not delete. Content hidden by moderation is preserved for dispute resolution. Restoration is always possible.
- Every action leaves a record. An audit log of who did what and when is maintained.
2. Filing a report
- Who — Any member who has logged in with a verified email address.
- What — Posts and their comments that you can see (public posts by anyone; star-friend posts by that star friend), guestbook notes (secret guestbook notes viewable by the star owner and the author), and profiles. Only-me (private) posts are not subject to reports.
- How — Use the Report button on the content's page and select one of 10 reasons. Each person can file only one report per item.
3. How we handle it
- Intake — The report is immediately placed in a review queue. Reports filed under the Minor safety reason automatically hide the content and are prioritized for review. Public posts, comments, and guestbook notes may also go through automated first-pass screening at the time of posting even without a report; content that clearly violates the guidelines is temporarily hidden (still visible to the author) and placed in the same queue pending human review.
- Review — The operator re-checks the current visibility of the content and assesses it against the guidelines. If the author has already deleted it or set it to private, no further action is taken (self-correction).
- Checking the reporter — The operator also reviews the reporter's cumulative report count and rejection history to identify false or malicious reports.
- Action or closure — If a violation is found, action is taken using the measures in Section 4. If no violation is found, the report is closed with no action. Either way, a closure record is created for the report.
4. What we can do
Content
- Hide — The content is hidden from others. The author can still see it (to review the content and file an appeal if needed).
- Remove — The content is hidden from everyone, including the author. Used for serious violations such as illegal content. Data is retained for dispute resolution and legal proceedings.
- Restore — If a hide or removal is found to have been excessive, it is reversed.
Account
- Warning — A recorded notice. No restriction on use.
- Temporary suspension — Posting of posts, comments, and guestbook notes is restricted for a set period (1, 3, 7, or 30 days).
- Permanent ban — Login is blocked. Applied for minor-safety violations and repeated or intentional violations.
- Lifting — Sanctions may be lifted if found excessive or if circumstances are explained. All sanctions and liftings are logged.
Responsibility for reports — If someone files a report maliciously against content that is not a legitimate subject of a report, or repeatedly reports the same person in retaliation, that report will be disregarded and the reporter may themselves be subject to the account sanctions above (warning, temporary suspension, or permanent ban).
5. Rights-infringement takedown requests (Article 44-2 of the Network Act)
The three grounds of personal information exposure, defamation, and copyright infringement are handled as rights-infringement takedown requests, not ordinary reports, following the procedure under Article 44-2 of the Network Act (Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection).
- Intake — Selecting one of the three grounds above on the report screen submits a rights-infringement takedown request. Please describe in the details field how your rights have been infringed (substantiation). The more specific the description, the faster a decision can be made.
- Action — The request is reviewed without delay and necessary measures such as deletion or hiding are taken. If it is difficult to determine whether a rights infringement exists or a dispute between the parties is anticipated, an interim measure (temporary access restriction) may be applied. The interim measure period is up to 30 days.
- Notification — The outcome is sent to the applicant's (reporter's) account email. If action such as deletion or hiding has been taken, the author's (content poster's) account email is also notified. If the request is rejected with no action, the author is not separately notified (notifying the applicant of a rejection is not a statutory obligation but a courtesy provided by Starpl).
- Appeal and restoration — After receiving notification, the author may file an appeal via Contact us under the [Report follow-up] category. If the explanation is found reasonable, the content will be restored. Content subject to an interim measure will be reviewed again within the period and either restored or removed definitively.
Copyright infringement also has a separate request procedure under Article 103 of the Copyright Act (suspension of reproduction and transmission). On Starpl, both can be submitted through the same report channel and will be processed under the procedure above. If the operator independently identifies a rights infringement, an interim measure may also be applied under Article 44-3 of the same Act.
6. Appeals
If your content has been hidden or your account has been sanctioned and you find it difficult to understand why, please reach out via Contact us and select the [Report follow-up] category. We will review the case again and restore or lift the sanction if the action was excessive. The handling progress is recorded in the inquiry log.
7. Records & accountability
Every moderation action (hiding, removal, restoration, warning, suspension, lifting, and report closure) is preserved as an audit log with the actor and timestamp. It is a safeguard that holds the operator to the same standard we promise to our members.