Assemblywoman Jeon Hye-sook Leads the Proposal of the Online Platform User Protection Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] A bill regulating the abuse of power by online platform service providers and governing fair transactions between providers and users has been proposed.

On the 11th, Jeon Hye-sook, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea (Seoul Gwangjin-gap), introduced the "Act on the Protection of Online Platform Users" and the "Partial Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act" as the main sponsor.

Jeon’s bill was prepared to strengthen the responsibility of platform service providers amid the growing influence of platform service providers and the frequent disadvantages faced by users.

This "Platform User Protection Act" includes dispute resolution measures among "platform providers," "platform users," and "platform user businesses," which were not specifically defined in the existing Telecommunications Business Act. If passed, it could serve as a special law under the Telecommunications Business Act, providing grounds for fair and prompt dispute resolution.

The amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act restricts not only telecommunications companies but also content companies from engaging in unreasonable or unfair practices. The provision requiring domestic and foreign content companies to identify and disclose the traffic they generate and the network usage fees paid to telecom companies is expected to create an opportunity for overseas content companies to pay network usage fees to domestic telecom companies.

Assemblywoman Jeon Hye-sook stated, "Legislation addressing issues related to online platforms is being enacted in major countries such as Europe and Japan," and added, "The 'Platform User Protection Act' will establish a fair and transparent trading order in the platform market and protect user rights."

Regarding the Telecommunications Business Act, Assemblywoman Jeon also said, "According to a survey conducted directly on our citizens, 70% responded that foreign companies should pay network usage fees in Korea," and added, "This will contribute to ensuring that foreign companies, which generate significant traffic and substantial profits in Korea, pay appropriate network usage fees."

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