Google, which dominates internet traffic in South Korea, is facing criticism for its substantial carbon footprint and alleged evasion of social responsibility. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Google, which dominates internet traffic in South Korea, is facing criticism for its substantial carbon footprint and alleged evasion of social responsibility, according to a report by a South Korean lawmaker.
Kim Woo-young, a Democratic Party representative in the National Assembly’s Science, Technology, Information Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, revealed that as of December of last year, Google accounted for 30.6% of the country’s internet traffic.
This figure represents the highest market share and a 2 percentage point increase from the previous year.
The data shows Netflix and Meta following with 6.9% and 5.1% respectively, while domestic tech giants Naver, Coupang, and Kakao trail with 2.9%, 1.3%, and 1.1%.
Collectively, the global tech trio of Google, Netflix, and Meta command 42.6% of South Korea’s internet traffic.
Google’s traffic surge is largely attributed to YouTube’s rapid growth. In December, YouTube became South Korea’s most-used mobile app, surpassing the popular messaging platform KakaoTalk with 45.65 million monthly active users.
The proliferation of online video services and information and communications technology (ICT) is expected to further increase data consumption.
A recent report by GSMA predicts that the average monthly data consumption per smartphone in South Korea and Japan will quintuple from 18GB in 2023 to 87GB by 2030.
Kim criticized Google for refusing to pay for its use of domestic networks despite YouTube’s extensive usage in South Korea, where it averages about 102.1 billion minutes of viewing time per month.
“YouTube is even expanding its traffic generation by inserting mid-roll ads to increase its revenue,” Kim stated.
Environmental concerns were also raised. According to research by The Shift Project, a French environmental non-profit, watching one hour of HD video generates approximately 3.2kg of carbon dioxide, equivalent to driving a car for over 12 kilometers.
Kim asserted, “YouTube viewing alone is responsible for about 65.34 million tons of carbon emissions annually in South Korea, making it a major contributor to our climate crisis.”
The lawmaker also pointed out the substantial carbon emissions from Google’s data centers, which are crucial for operating AI services requiring extensive machine learning and inference processes.
“Google is acting contrary to the global Net Zero goal,” Kim concluded, “blinded by profits and ignoring its social responsibilities.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
