U.S. Voices Concerns Over Censorship and Big Tech Regulation in South Korea's Network Act

"Unnecessary Barriers Should Not Be Imposed"

The U.S. Department of State has officially expressed concerns regarding the amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act (the Act to Eradicate False and Manipulated Information) passed by the South Korean National Assembly.

On December 31 (local time), in response to a question from Yonhap News about the law, the U.S. Department of State stated, "The United States has significant concerns about the South Korean government's approval of the amendment to the Network Act, which negatively affects the business operations of U.S.-based online platforms (companies) and undermines freedom of expression."

The statement continued, "South Korea should not impose unnecessary barriers on digital services," adding, "The United States opposes censorship and is committed to working with South Korea to promote a free and open digital environment for all."

National Assembly Main Chamber. Photo by Yonhap News

Previously, Sarah Rogers, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, stated on X (formerly Twitter) the previous day, "South Korea's amendment to the Network Act appears on the surface to focus on addressing the issue of deepfakes, but in reality, it has much broader implications and jeopardizes technological cooperation." She further argued, "Rather than granting regulators the 'invasive' authority of viewpoint-based censorship, it would be preferable to provide civil remedies to victims."

The Network Act refers to the amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act that passed the National Assembly on December 24. This law defines information that incites violence or discrimination as illegal information and prohibits and penalizes the dissemination of illegal information and false or manipulated information through information and communications networks.

The reason the United States is displeased with this law is that it conflicts with the Trump administration's perspective on online content regulation and could directly affect U.S. platform companies such as Meta and Google.

Even before the Information and Communications Network Act, the Trump administration and U.S. companies had consistently raised concerns about South Korea's push for online platform regulations and issues such as the export of Google Maps data. It is also known that the U.S. Department of State expressed concerns about digital legislation to the South Korean side during the 10th Senior Economic Dialogue (SED) between South Korea and the United States held on December 10.