U.S. Lawmakers Defending Coupang Protest South Korea's Network Act

U.S. Republican members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter of protest to the South Korean government, arguing that the amendments to the Network Act implemented in Korea last month could infringe on the freedom of expression of American companies and users. They have previously claimed that American companies such as Coupang are facing discrimination in Korea.

Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Jim Jordan, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, publicly released a letter on the 6th (local time) that he sent, along with Representatives Scott Fitzgerald, Darrell Issa, and Michael Baumgartner, to the Broadcasting, Media, and Communications Committee.

The representatives argued that the amended Network Act constitutes "a significant threat to online speech and expression," and claimed that American companies and users could face punishment simply for exercising their constitutional rights.

The amended law, which went into effect on the 7th of last month, mainly imposes an obligation on platform operators such as Naver, Kakao, Google, Meta, and X to delete and block false or manipulated information and outlines corresponding penalties.

The representatives pointed out that the law fails to clearly define the concept of false information and the criteria for enforcement, making it susceptible to abuse for censoring politically inconvenient views. They also argued that the law could have a chilling effect on freedom of expression and online activities overall.

They criticized that the amended law is following in the footsteps of the European Union's Digital Services Act, remarking, "Korea is repeating the EU’s mistakes."

In a separate statement, Representative Fitzgerald said, "No foreign government has the authority to pressure American companies to censor speech that is constitutionally protected." He asserted that Korea's so-called 'false information law' is ambiguous and broad in scope, thus posing a high risk of abuse.

Last month, the House Judiciary Committee also released a report stating that the South Korean government is unfairly treating American companies such as Coupang, in violation of the Korea-U.S. trade agreement.

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