Google Abuse Prevention Act Passes Key Hurdle... Clears Judiciary Committee in National Assembly

Yoon Han-hong, the whip of the People Power Party's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and other lawmakers attended the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 24th, displaying opposition phrases against the "Media Arbitration Act Amendment." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The so-called "Google Gapjil Prevention Act (Amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act)" that blocks Google's forced in-app payments has passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. If the amendment passes the plenary session of the National Assembly, South Korea will become the first country to regulate app markets by law.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a plenary meeting on the 25th and passed the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which prevents Google's unilateral changes to its commission policy.

The amendment was processed solely by the ruling party after the People Power Party members walked out in protest against the meeting operation method of Acting Chairman Park Jumin of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The amendment prohibits ▲ app market operators from unfairly using their transactional position to force mobile content providers to use specific payment methods ▲ app market operators from unfairly delaying the review of mobile content, among other acts.

However, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee deleted Article 50, Paragraph 1, Items 10 and 13 from the amendment originally approved by the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Broadcasting and Communications Committee. These items regulated acts such as app market operators unfairly coercing or inducing mobile content providers not to register their content on other app markets and imposing discriminatory conditions or restrictions on mobile content providers. This was a result of coordination between the Fair Trade Commission and the Korea Communications Commission to avoid overlapping regulations.

Last year, Google decided to expand in-app payments, which were only applied to game apps, to all apps and content starting this October. This decision meant imposing a 30% commission on payment amounts for all content including games, music, and webtoons, raising concerns in the industry that it would lead to price increases and increased burdens on mobile content consumers.

On the 16th of last month, Google announced on the official Android developer blog that it would grant a six-month extension opportunity after carefully considering the reactions of both large and small developers, but it failed to persuade the industry and political circles.

Meanwhile, it is uncertain whether the amendment will be submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly scheduled for the day. According to the National Assembly Act, bills passed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the same day cannot be brought to the plenary session to allow for deliberation.

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