Google Regulation Left Unresolved in the 21st National Assembly, Referred to Subcommittee in January
Google Commissions Kim & Chang to Review Legal Obligations for Registration
As Google faces an increasing possibility of being designated as an ‘Internet News Service Provider’ like Naver or Daum and thus becoming subject to regulations, it has begun to respond. Internet News Service Providers are required to arrange articles in a mandated manner and pay news usage fees to media companies, but Google is currently not included in this category. With the National Assembly pushing for measures to regulate internet service providers that offer news services domestically, including Google, attention is focused on the level of response.
According to industry and National Assembly sources on the 19th, Google requested the law firm Kim & Chang in January to review the ‘legal obligations applied upon registration as an Internet News Service Provider.’ According to Article 10 of the Act on Promotion of Newspapers, etc. (Newspaper Act), Internet News Service Providers must disclose their basic policy on how news is arranged on the screen and information about the person responsible for article arrangement. They must also keep records of article arrangements for six months. Additionally, they have an obligation to correct articles upon request from media companies. Democratic Party lawmaker Im O-kyung proposed an amendment to the related law last year to impose the same obligations on Google as on domestic companies like Naver.
Google shows major news through ‘Google News’ and even recommends articles based on users’ interests. Despite providing the same services as Naver or Daum, it has avoided registering as an Internet News Service Provider and thus escaped various regulations, drawing much criticism.
A National Assembly official pointed out, "Just as Naver is currently in litigation with terrestrial broadcasters over the use of AI training data, Google also learns from all searchable texts, raising copyright issues," adding, "Internet news providers should receive compensation when their content is exposed in searches or used for AI training, but the reality is that they receive nothing."
If Google becomes subject to regulation, the focus will be on whether it will pay news usage fees to domestic media companies like Naver. A tech industry insider said, "The current Newspaper Act does not stipulate that portals must pay news usage fees, but Naver has paid reproduction fees since the early 2000s through news provision contracts with media companies and has been sharing advertising revenue as compensation since 2020," adding, "There will be growing voices in the National Assembly and industry that Google should follow this approach."
Jung Sang An, adjunct professor at Chung-Ang University’s Department of Communication and former senior specialist for information and communication and broadcasting media at the Democratic Party, said, "The issue of Google’s registration as an Internet News Service Provider was discussed in the 21st National Assembly but no conclusion was reached," and added, "The internal atmosphere within the Democratic Party is that the bill must be passed this time."
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