The revised Information and Communications Network Act and its enforcement regulations have significantly strengthened the responsibilities of large online platforms in addressing misinformation. With the introduction of penalties of up to 1 billion won and punitive damages up to five times for repeat offenders of misinformation, platforms are now obligated to manage misinformation more systematically.
The law applies to large information and communication service providers with an average daily user count of over 1 million in the past three months. Major domestic and international platforms, including Naver, Kakao, Daum, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, fall under this category.
Under the new law, platforms must establish autonomous operational policies to address misinformation. These policies must specify criteria for identifying misinformation and procedures for reporting and taking action. When a user reports misinformation, the platform is required to notify them of the report.
If a post is deleted, blocked, or its exposure is limited, the platform must inform both the reporter and the poster of the reasons for the action and the process for filing an appeal. Additionally, platforms are required to prepare and publicly disclose a report at least once every six months detailing the number of misinformation reports and their outcomes.
In response to the law, domestic platforms are revising their operational policies. Naver has amended its existing terms of service to enhance user protection. It now restricts the posting of content that intentionally disseminates misinformation to infringe on the rights of others or the public interest, and it has specified that hate speech inciting violence or discrimination against individuals or groups is also prohibited.
Kakao revised its service operational policy on June 30 to include a new prohibition against disseminating misinformation for the purpose of harming others or gaining unfair advantages, which infringes on public interest or the rights of others. The updated policy also states compliance with the KISO guidelines for autonomous misinformation policies, effective from July 7.
While the previous operational policy broadly prohibited actions that disrupt the normal operation of services, the revision specifically delineates the prohibition of misinformation dissemination as a separate clause.
However, private messaging services like KakaoTalk are not subject to these regulations. The Broadcasting and Communications Commission clarified that private messages exchanged between individuals are not regulated, while services that allow for public distribution of information, such as open chats, are included.
AXZ, which operates the Daum service, has similarly incorporated the KISO guidelines into its operational policies and defines the dissemination of misinformation as prohibited activity during service use.
In response to concerns that the government might be preemptively censoring online posts, officials emphasized that the determination of misinformation will be based on the platforms' autonomous operational policies, and this system is designed to prevent user harm and provide relief to victims.
However, the response from foreign platforms has been lukewarm. Companies like Google, Meta, and X have not yet disclosed any changes to their terms of service or operational policies in relation to the new law. This raises concerns that only domestic platforms may bear significant administrative and financial burdens.
For foreign platforms with local branches, applying domestic laws can be challenging if their servers are located abroad. Additionally, pressure from U.S. authorities favoring domestic platform companies complicates the situation. Furthermore, major tech companies operate under a regulatory relaxation trend in their home countries, making it difficult to align with domestic regulatory realities.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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