"Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act Prepared... Legislative Notice
Government Supports Platform Self-Regulation Activities and Incentives"
The government has established a legal basis for digital platform companies such as Naver, Kakao, and Coupang to implement private-led self-regulation.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission announced on the 20th that they have prepared the "Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act" as a follow-up measure to the national agenda. This amendment aims to provide a legal foundation for the effective operation of platform self-regulation and will be open for legislative notice from tomorrow (21st) until the 31st of next month.
The bill includes key provisions such as ▲ the performance of self-regulation tasks by value-added telecommunications service providers or organizations ▲ the establishment and promotion of government support policies for self-regulation ▲ efforts to hear opinions from stakeholders and experts during self-regulation activities ▲ government support for self-regulation activities of value-added telecommunications service provider organizations ▲ and consideration of self-regulation efforts and achievements when the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission take action against violations of related laws by value-added telecommunications service providers. Detailed contents of the bill can be reviewed starting tomorrow.
Last December, the government announced the "Digital Platform Development Plan" with the goal of creating a healthy growth environment for the domestic platform ecosystem and fostering native platforms that lead the global digital economy.
At that time, the policy was set to promote private-led self-regulation principles to resolve various side effects surrounding platforms while ensuring that market dynamism is not hindered.
This amendment is a follow-up measure jointly prepared by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission as a single bill. During the legislative notice period, opinions from stakeholders and the public on the amendment will be collected.
The government plans to proceed with follow-up procedures such as inter-ministerial consultations and review by the Ministry of Government Legislation to submit the amendment to the National Assembly within this year. Cheon Ji-hyun, Director General of User Policy at the Korea Communications Commission, stated, "Platform self-regulation is expected to pass smoothly as there are no political disagreements."
In this regard, Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver, expressed her hope at a public event on the 24th of last month that the government would set the policy direction toward 'self-regulation' rather than 'pre-regulation' for online platforms. The event was an opportunity to introduce the business strategy centered on the company's developed large-scale AI, 'HyperCLOVA X.'
CEO Choi said, "Generative AI is a battle that crosses borders, and sanctions against global player monopolies are also being implemented," adding, "Please set self-regulation as the strategic framework rather than pre-regulation." She continued, "It is desirable to encourage innovation and emphasize creativity."
The government is also prepared to actively support domestic platform companies to secure global competitiveness while implementing user protection measures.
Lee Jong-ho, Minister of Science and ICT, said, "There have been achievements where issues in the platform ecosystem, such as disclosure standards for platform search and recommendation services, improvement of entry contract practices and dispute resolution procedures, and preparation of win-win measures, have been resolved through consensus among stakeholders in private platform self-regulatory organizations."
He added, "Based on this amendment, the government will actively support the establishment and spread of platform self-regulation in the private sector to create an innovative and fair digital platform ecosystem."
Lee Dong-gwan, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, said, "Taking this legislative amendment initiative as an opportunity, we hope platform operators will participate more actively in self-regulation to create a fair and transparent platform environment and protect users," and added, "We will continue to promote platform self-regulation as a national policy direction."
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