South Korea denies U.S. lawmakers' claims of discrimination in new internet law

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has countered assertions made by U.S. lawmakers that the recently revised Information and Communications Network Act (ICNA) includes discriminatory provisions against American companies. The ministry firmly stated that the law, which aims to address societal harms arising from the digital environment and enhance user protection, contains no discriminatory elements.

This response comes after four Republican members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, sent a letter to the U.S. Congressional-Research Service (CRS) expressing concerns. They argued that the ICNA's scope is ambiguous and could potentially be used to censor politically opposing views. The lawmakers also raised fears that the revised act specifically targets American companies, potentially leading to the punishment of U.S. firms and users exercising constitutionally protected rights.

The revised ICNA, which took effect on August 7, imposes obligations on platform operators, including Naver, Kakao, Google, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter), to delete or block false or manipulated information. It also includes penalty clauses for non-compliance. This legislation follows previous concerns raised by the same U.S. lawmakers regarding alleged discrimination against Coupang, an e-commerce company, by the South Korean government.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated its intention to actively explain the law's objectives and effects to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee through inter-agency collaboration. The government aims to clarify that the legislation is designed for broader societal benefit and not to disadvantage any specific foreign entities.