Supreme Court: "Overwatch Auto-Aim Hack Is Not a 'Malicious Program'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that an aim-assist program (aim hack) that automatically targets objects in the online shooting game 'Overwatch' does not constitute a malicious program prohibited under the Information and Communications Network Act.

On the 15th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) overturned the lower court's guilty verdict under the Information and Communications Network Act in the appeal trial of Mr. A, who was charged with violating the Information and Communications Network Act and the Game Industry Act, and remanded the case to the Incheon District Court.

Mr. A was accused of distributing a program with an automatic targeting function while playing Overwatch for one year starting from July 2016. He sold the program approximately 3,600 times, earning 199 million KRW in revenue.

Article 48 of the Information and Communications Network Act prohibits "programs that can damage, destroy, alter, forge systems or data, or interfere with their operation," classifying them as "malicious programs."

However, the Supreme Court ruled that since the program only runs within the installed computer and does not alter the system or game data itself, it does not fall under the "malicious program" as defined by law. Nevertheless, the Court added that, as with the lower court, the violation of the Game Industry Act can be recognized, clarifying that the Supreme Court's decision "does not mean that criminal punishment is ruled out."

Previously, the first trial found Mr. A guilty of violating the Game Industry Act by selling the program with the intent to disrupt the normal operation of the game and sentenced him to one year in prison with a two-year probation. The Information and Communications Network Act violation was not recognized.

The second trial interpreted the Information and Communications Network Act broadly and found that Mr. A violated not only the Game Industry Act but also the Information and Communications Network Act. However, since the offenses under the two laws constitute a single comprehensive crime, the sentence was maintained as is.

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