Enforcement of Netflix Act... Internet Industry Demands Transparency in Traffic Measurement Standards

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] As the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, known as the Netflix Act, takes effect on the 10th, the Korea Internet Corporations Association (KICA) has demanded that the criteria for traffic measurement used to select the subjects of the law be disclosed transparently. KICA is an organization that includes companies such as Naver and Kakao.

The Netflix Act requires content providers (CPs) such as Naver, Kakao, Google, Facebook, and Netflix to take various measures to ensure service stability. The law applies to value-added telecommunications service providers whose average daily users and traffic volume each exceed 1 million over three months, and whose domestic total traffic volume accounts for more than 1%. CPs must register as value-added telecommunications service providers to operate their businesses.

The industry is concerned that the Netflix Act, created to regulate some global CPs that do not pay network usage fees, might instead hinder domestic companies.

KICA stated that the measurement of "domestic total traffic volume" is ambiguous and that the criteria should be disclosed transparently. In a statement released that day, KICA said, "For the law to be applied clearly, clarity of the criteria must come first," adding, "Industry doubts and anxieties about this remain unchanged."

They continued, "To guarantee predictability for value-added telecommunications service providers, we hope that measures to ensure transparency in fair traffic volume measurement will be disclosed."

They also requested that participation by companies or organizations representing value-added telecommunications service providers be guaranteed to secure transparency.

KICA said, "Some argue that the amended law imposes network quality maintenance obligations on value-added telecommunications service providers, interpreting it broadly and claiming it will affect network costs or contracts," and added, "The government should clarify and explain this more clearly to prevent misunderstandings about the law among operators."

Furthermore, they added, "To alleviate industry concerns about broad obligations such as the 'data transmission right' among user demands, specific service application methods should also be presented."

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