First Policy Guide for Online Subscription-Based Service Providers Published

"Encouraging Voluntary Improvement Efforts by Providers"

The Broadcast Media and Communications Committee (BMCC) announced on May 27 that it has published its first policy guide summarizing key considerations for online subscription-based service providers, focusing on the Telecommunications Business Act.

Broadcast Media and Communications Committee logo. Provided by the Broadcast Media and Communications Committee

This guide includes regulations on prohibited practices and major regulatory cases that providers should be aware of when offering subscription services. By providing these examples, the guide aims to help businesses better anticipate possible legal violations during service provision and strengthen their compliance capabilities.

The BMCC categorized the structure of subscription-based services into stages such as promotional activities, subscription, usage, and termination, and analyzed user touchpoints at each stage to explain potential consumer harm. Key examples of legal violations included in the guide are: ▲Inducing paid service subscriptions without user consent ▲Concealing or omitting important information such as fees and payment conditions ▲Suspending core functions or changing important terms without justifiable reasons ▲Imposing excessive penalties for cancellation or unjustifiably restricting service termination.

Additionally, to further strengthen user protection, the guide also provides recommendations that providers are strongly encouraged to follow. Major recommendations include: ▲Enhancing advance notifications before automatic payments ▲Ensuring users clearly understand important information ▲Providing ample advance notice when service terms change ▲Establishing simple and intuitive cancellation procedures.

The BMCC expressed its expectation that this guide will help businesses better understand relevant regulations and significantly enhance the level of user protection. Although the recent proliferation of online subscription-based services has greatly improved user convenience, the BMCC noted that complaints and cases of consumer harm have also increased due to issues such as automatic payments and complicated cancellation procedures.

Kim Jongcheol, Chairperson of the BMCC, stated, "Rather than focusing on short-term profits or the lock-in effect for users, providers need to shift their paradigm toward fundamentally increasing user satisfaction through user-friendly service design." He added, "With this guide, we will first encourage providers to take voluntary corrective actions and will respond sternly to repeated or serious legal violations."

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