"Are You Saying to Censor KakaoTalk Chats?" Internet Industry Opposes Nth Room Prevention Law

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Domestic internet companies including Naver and Kakao have expressed opposition, fearing private censorship and discrimination against domestic companies, as the likelihood of the so-called 'n-bunbang Prevention Act' passing the National Assembly increases.

The Korea Internet Corporations Association, the Korea Venture Business Association, and the Korea Startup Forum will hold an emergency press conference on the morning of the 12th to urge the suspension of the hasty processing of contentious bills by the 20th National Assembly. The day before, they jointly sent a letter of inquiry to the government regarding its stance on the amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act, the Information and Communications Network Act, the Basic Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development, and the enforcement decree.

In the letter of inquiry, they explained, "Internet companies are concerned about violations of constitutional values such as privacy protection, communication secrecy, freedom of expression, and freedom to perform one's profession, as well as controversies over private censorship," adding, "The obligation to prevent the distribution of illegal filmed materials by implementing technical and managerial measures even in users' private spaces raises ongoing concerns that private censorship is being forced upon private businesses."

They also raised the issue of discrimination against domestic companies compared to overseas firms. Telegram, the overseas messenger involved in the n-bunbang incident, is difficult to contact, making regulatory enforcement uncertain, which ultimately adds another obligation only to domestic operators.

The amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, known as the 'n-bunbang Prevention Act,' imposes an obligation on value-added telecommunications service providers to delete and block access to illegal filmed materials that violate the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. It passed the full meeting of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee on the 7th of this month and is pending review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the plenary session. The amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act requires information and communication service providers meeting criteria set by presidential decree to designate a person responsible for preventing the distribution of illegal filmed materials.

They also sent a letter of inquiry to the Ministry of Science and ICT regarding the amendment to the Basic Act on Broadcasting and Communications Development. The amendment, which also passed the Science and Technology Committee, aims to include private data centers (IDCs) in the national broadcasting and communications disaster management basic plan to prevent data loss by ensuring IDCs operate even during disasters.

They stated, "It seems unavoidable to face criticism that excessive overlapping regulations and unnecessary obligations cause damage to businesses," and expressed concerns about whether the law can be applied equally and fairly when overseas operators use regions or leased IDCs, or if only domestic companies will be shackled.

The three organizations and the Regulatory Experience Forum issued a separate statement defining these bills as 'hasty processing at the end of the 20th National Assembly's term' and demanded a halt.

They urged, "Despite the bills flooding in after the 'n-bunbang incident' containing regulations that strangle the industry, the National Assembly shows behavior such as inserting regulatory targets and producing excessive regulations without sufficient social discussion and ignoring formal and procedural requirements," and called to "defer the handling of contentious bills to the 21st National Assembly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.