Trade Barriers Report Mentions Application of Broadcasting Act and Other Issues
As the Donald Trump administration in the United States prepared to announce ‘reciprocal tariffs,’ the trade dispute spilled over into the information technology (IT) sector.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the ‘2025 National Trade Barriers Report’ on the 31st (local time), which listed the difficulties faced by American big tech companies in doing business in Korea in a comprehensive manner.
On the 1st, Yonhap News quoted the report, stating, "The Korean government and National Assembly are discussing applying broadcasting regulations to online video services (OTT) and are considering mandatory programming of Korean content on American OTT services."
Key issues mentioned include network usage fees, online platform regulations, restrictions on public sector cloud market entry, limitations on location-based data export, and personal information protection laws.
Network usage fees refer to the payments made by content providers (CP) to internet service providers (ISP), which provide internet networks, for the traffic generated when delivering content to consumers.
This is a long-standing issue that has sparked controversy, such as the legal dispute between Netflix and SK Broadband and Amazon’s withdrawal of its streaming platform Twitch.
In fact, current domestic laws regarding OTT are unclear in terms of legal definitions and regulatory frameworks. OTT platforms are not classified as broadcasters subject to the Broadcasting Act but are considered value-added telecommunications service providers under the Telecommunications Business Act and information and communication service providers under the Information and Communications Network Act, with self-regulation being recommended.
However, issues such as fairness with broadcaster-produced content and excessive provocative expressions have led to discussions about including OTT in the same regulatory category as broadcasters. Although this has not been formalized as a policy direction, the United States has shown resistance to this trend.
The report argued that some Korean ISPs also supply content, so requiring American CPs to pay fees would benefit Korean competitors. It also pointed out that imposing network usage fees would strengthen the monopoly of Korean ISPs (the three major telecom companies), which is anti-competitive.
It added, "Korea is discussing integrating platforms into the existing limited regulatory framework for media, and content requirements are included in the regulatory scope," expressing caution about policy intervention in domestic OTT platforms such as Netflix and Disney Plus.
The report also criticized the restrictions on the entry of American cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) into the Korean market as "significant barriers." The government requires domestic public institutions to meet cybersecurity requirements certified by the National Intelligence Service when using cloud services, which excludes big tech companies.
Regarding the report, Ahn Jeong-sang, chairman of the Korea OTT Forum and adjunct professor at Chung-Ang University Graduate School of Communication, told Yonhap News, "Domestic OTT policy is also focused more on promotion than regulation, aiming to enhance the international competitiveness of domestic content. I do not think the U.S. concerns are matters that require serious response."
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