[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Korea Communications Commission (KCC), which suffered defeats in both the first and appellate trials, has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court regarding the arbitrary change of Facebook access routes.
On the 21st, the KCC announced that it decided to appeal the case concerning user interest harm caused by the arbitrary change of Facebook access routes. The KCC stated, "The restriction of use was acknowledged in the second trial," but also pointed out, "It is very regrettable that the criterion for determining significance was judged based on foreign standards without considering the domestic telecommunications environment and user characteristics."
The KCC plans to emphasize the legislative intent and purpose of the Telecommunications Business Act in the Supreme Court appeal, based on the complaints filed by domestic users who suffered damage at the time, response speed, and other domestic user damage cases related to the significance criterion.
Regarding the retroactive effect issue raised by the second trial court, the KCC judged that since the user interest harm against Facebook continued after the enforcement of the enforcement decree, it corresponds to an already established quasi-retroactive effect. The KCC plans to actively respond to issues such as restriction of use, significance, and retroactive application in the Supreme Court appeal to protect the interests of domestic users.
A KCC official said, "We have decided to appeal to the Supreme Court and are proceeding with related administrative procedures with Jipyung," adding, "We will file the lawsuit as soon as preparations are complete."
Earlier, on the 12th, the appellate court dismissed the KCC's appeal, ruling that although the change of Facebook access routes constituted a restriction of use, it was not done in a way that harmed the interests of telecommunications service users, and that applying the amended Telecommunications Business Act enforcement decree retroactively was an abuse of discretion. Facebook changed its access routes during negotiations over network usage fees with telecom companies such as SK Broadband and LG Uplus in 2016. The KCC imposed corrective measures and a fine of 396 million won in 2018, and Facebook filed an administrative lawsuit.
The first trial court last year accepted Facebook's claim that the change of Facebook access routes did not constitute a restriction of use under the Telecommunications Business Act and that the degree was not significant, ordering the cancellation of administrative sanctions.
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