Korean Publishers Association Files Criminal Complaint Against Google... "Forcing Payment System Is Illegal"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] Google has been accused of violating the Telecommunications Business Act. The Korea Publishers Association announced on the 13th that it has submitted a criminal complaint to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

The association stated, "App developers providing in-app purchases were forced to use the Google Play payment system," and "Outlinks, such as links or buttons connecting to external websites with lower fees, were prohibited," explaining the reason for the complaint.

It added, "There are demands to build a user experience (UX) favorable to the payment service, high fees are required even when using alternative payment methods, and excessive management information disclosure conditions are imposed," and "Service providers who do not comply with the mandatory in-app policy face disadvantages such as denial of updates and app deletion."

According to Article 50, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 9 of the Telecommunications Business Act, it is illegal for app market operators to unfairly use their transactional position to force content providers to use a specific payment method. The association urged a thorough investigation based on this.

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