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US voices ‘significant concerns’ about new Korean regulations on digital platforms

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US voices ‘significant concerns’ about new Korean regulations on digital platforms

The US Department of State expressed “significant concerns” about South Korea’s recent passage of a revision to a law aimed at addressing false and fabricated information online.

After being the subject of significant backlash within South Korea, the revision of the Information and Communications Network Act now faces a new obstacle in the form of US disapproval.

“The United States has significant concerns with the ROK government’s approval of an amendment to the Network Act that negatively impacts the business of US-based online platforms and undermines free expression,” a department spokesperson told the Hankyoreh on Wednesday in response to a request for comment.

“The ROK should not impose unnecessary barriers around digital services,” the spokesperson went on to say.

The term “unnecessary barriers” was used verbatim in the joint fact sheet that South Korea and the US released in November following an earlier summit. The fact sheet stated that the two countries “commit to ensure that US companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary barriers in terms of laws and policies concerning digital services, including network usage fees and online platform regulations.”

Seoul contends that there is nothing discriminatory about the new regulations, but the US’ interpretation of them as a “barrier” prompts concerns of potential trade frictions. Such concerns are not unfounded, as the US pushed back the annual meeting of a joint committee to discuss the two countries’ free trade agreement that had been scheduled for Dec. 18 after the South Korean government moved to amend the Network Act. “The United States opposes censorship and remains dedicated to working with the ROK to promote a free and open digital environment for all,” the State Department spokesperson continued, raising the possibility that the new regulations will become a point of contention between the two countries.

The State Department warned that the amendment of the Network Act could add to the wave of censorship currently sweeping across the globe. “By requiring platforms to proactively censor content to avoid penalties, the ROK risks abetting a global trend of regulations that censors and threaten free expression beyond its borders,” it said, urging “careful consideration” by South Korea.

The spokesperson’s office for South Korea’s Foreign Ministry explained that the law is aimed at responding to today’s online environment. “The purpose of the act is to respond to detrimental effects that a swiftly changing digital environment can have on society and to strengthen user protection,” the ministry said, noting that it would ensure that the US and South Korea “closely engage with one another” on the matter. The new amendment would identify a specific group of large-scale information and communication service providers and assign it the task of setting up policies on registering disinformation reports and establishing standards and responses. Those included in the group would also have to submit transparency reports to provide updates on their responses to disinformation at least once every six months.

The US believes that the amendment would subject Big Tech companies in the US, such as Google, to excessive regulations. After arguing that the European Union’s Digital Services Act is an attempt at censorship targeting US companies, the US has recently demonstrated a hard-line response by imposing visa bans on officials involved in the act.

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