Enforcement Decree of the Netflix Act Passed at Cabinet Meeting... Effective on the 10th

Establish Regulations for Securing Service Stability Measures
CPs Must Also Pay Attention to Preventing Traffic Concentration

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The government has approved the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Telecommunications Business Act, commonly known as the 'Netflix Act,' at the Cabinet meeting. The main point is to impose obligations related to network stability on overseas content providers (CPs) such as Netflix, which had previously been in a regulatory blind spot.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 1st, the government has imposed measures on major value-added telecommunications service providers to secure service stability means and to handle user requests.

The measures to secure service stability include ▲actions to provide stable service without discrimination based on usage environment (devices, ISPs, etc.), ▲technical error prevention measures, ▲measures to prevent excessive traffic concentration, ▲measures to cope with fluctuations in traffic volume and consultation with related operators (ISPs, CDNs) if necessary, and ▲prior notification to telecommunications carriers when changing traffic routes.

The measures related to handling user requests include ▲securing online and ARS systems, ▲providing contact information for user consultations regarding service stability such as pre-service inspections, temporary suspensions, and speed reductions, and ▲offering reasonable payment methods for paid service users.

Additionally, if it is judged that service stability has been compromised due to service failures or interruptions, the decree stipulates that requests for submission of related materials can be made to verify the implementation status of measures to secure service stability.

The targets are value-added telecommunications service providers whose average daily domestic users and traffic volume each exceed 1 million over the last three months of the previous year and whose total domestic traffic volume accounts for more than 1%. Based on current standards, five providers meet these conditions: Google, Naver, Netflix, Kakao, and Facebook.

Separately, the government also approved amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act at the Cabinet meeting, including detailed criteria for rejection of reservation reports and deregulation of entry for Internet of Things (IoT) resale services.

A Ministry of Science and ICT official stated, "The Enforcement Decree of the Telecommunications Business Act, which passed the Cabinet meeting, is scheduled to be enforced from December 10 after promulgation. The government plans to take thorough measures to prevent confusion among the applicable businesses related to the decree and to ensure that it leads to improved benefits for users."

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