The U.S. Trump administration officially expressed concern about the amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection passed by Korea's National Assembly.
On Dec. 31 (local time), the State Department said in a response to a question from Yonhap News about its position on the law, "The United States has significant concerns about Korea's approval of amendments to the Network Act that negatively impact U.S.-based online platforms' business and weaken freedom of expression."
It added, "Korea should not impose unnecessary barriers in digital services," and "The United States opposes censorship and is committed to working with Korea to promote a free and open digital environment for all."
The Network Act mentioned by the State Department Spokesperson refers to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, which passed the National Assembly on Nov. 24. The law defines information that incites violence or discrimination as illegal information and includes provisions that prohibit and punish the act of distributing illegal information and false or manipulated information on information and communications networks.
The law also designates "large-scale information and communications service providers" based on the number of users, sales, and other criteria, and allows punitive damages of up to five times the amount of loss to the media and others when they intentionally or with gross negligence distribute false information that causes damage. It also requires disclosure of items such as "transparency reports," and U.S. big tech corporations such as Google and Meta (Facebook) are subject to it.
Given the Trump administration's aversion to investigating and regulating its own big tech, there are concerns that the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection could emerge as a new diplomatic and trade issue between Korea and the United States. Last month, the Trump administration designated five leading figures of the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which Korea's Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection benchmarked, as subject to visa issuance restrictions.
Earlier, Sarah Rogers, State Department Vice Minister for Public Diplomacy, wrote on the social media (SNS) platform X (formerly Twitter) the day before, "On its face, Korea's Network Act amendment appears to focus on addressing the problem of defamatory deepfakes, but in reality it has far broader effects and jeopardizes technological cooperation."