In Arizona, US Passes 'In-App Payment Mandate Ban'... South Korea's 'Google Abuse Prevention Act' Enters New Phase

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] As the Arizona House of Representatives in the United States passed a bill prohibiting Google and Apple from forcing in-app payments, attention is growing on whether this will also affect the 'Google Gapjil Prevention Act' currently being promoted in the National Assembly of South Korea.

According to foreign media on the 7th, HB2005, a bill proposed by Arizona State House Representative Regina Cobb, was passed in the House vote on the 3rd by 31 to 29. The main point of this bill is to prevent Google and Apple from exercising monopolistic power in the app market, such as forcing in-app payments.

For the bill to take effect, it must also pass the Senate and go through the governor's signature process. However, the likelihood of the bill passing locally is considered high because Republican lawmakers who support the bill hold the majority in both the Arizona State Senate and House.

If HB2005 is passed, it is expected to have a significant impact on the promotion of the Google Gapjil Prevention Act in South Korea. Currently, seven amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act, which prohibit app market operators from forcing specific payment methods and from demanding exclusive content releases, are pending in the National Assembly.

Originally, the ruling and opposition parties planned to integrate and coordinate these bills, prepare a committee alternative, and pass them, but discussions have reached a deadlock due to differing opinions on some provisions.

In particular, the opposition party has argued for caution in passing the bill, citing that there have been no overseas cases regulating Google in-app payments by law. If HB2005 passes, one of the opposition party's concerns will be eliminated, increasing the likelihood of progress in bill discussions. In fact, Park Sung-joong, the opposition party whip of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee and a member of the People Power Party, said in an interview with a media outlet, "There have been no overseas cases until now, but (the passage of HB2005 in the House) is expected to be a good example. It is a very meaningful result."

However, concerns about trade friction between South Korea and the United States remain a difficult issue to resolve. In November last year, the Korean Embassy in the U.S. conveyed concerns to the government and the National Assembly that the amendments to the Telecommunications Business Act target specific companies and could escalate into trade disadvantages. Google has also used the argument against the bill's passage, stating, "If South Korea takes the lead in introducing in-app payment regulations, it could become a major obstacle in forming diplomatic relations in the early Biden administration."

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