[Editorial] Proposed Information and Communications Network Act amendment is excessive regulation

The recently passed amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act has raised concerns that it constitutes excessive regulation that simultaneously chills freedom of expression and business activity. In particular, this amendment has gone beyond a domestic issue and prompted an official expression of concern from the U.S. government, creating unnecessary tension in diplomatic and technological cooperation between Korea and the United States.

At the core of the problem is the fact that the concept of “false and manipulated information” is excessively abstract and vague. In a situation where there are no clear standards for determining what is false and to what extent something is manipulated, coupling that with punitive damages leaves the media, platforms, and businesses little choice but to silence themselves out of fear of ex post sanctions. This could lead not only to an infringement on freedom of expression but also to damage legal predictability and stability.

Serious side effects are also expected for platform companies’ activities. Imposing broad management and judgment responsibilities on large-scale information and communications service providers is far more likely to result in excessive prior blocking and a chilling effect on content to avoid legal risk than to promote innovation. In particular, such regulation will place a heavier burden on domestic startups and small and medium-sized platforms than on global big tech, ultimately weakening market competition.

Furthermore, this amendment sends the international community the wrong policy signal that Korea is moving in a different direction from global digital norms. From the perspective of technology firms and investors, Korea may come to be seen as a “high-risk country” where expression and innovation can be stifled by regulation, and this will inevitably have a negative long-term impact on technological cooperation, research and development, and investment attraction overall.

The concern that harm caused by false information should be reduced deserves respect in itself. However, the solution should not be broad governmental judgment and prior control, but rather market-friendly approaches centered on greater transparency, self-regulation, and expanded user choice. Laws that suppress expression and dampen business activity ultimately diminish the vitality of society as a whole.

The amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act should be comprehensively reconsidered. It needs to be revised again in a direction that does not undermine freedom of expression while also not impeding businesses’ autonomous innovation.

2026. 1. 5.

Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: [논평] 정보통신망법 개정안은 '허위정보 대응’을 빌미로 한 과잉 규제다

Author: Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

Date: 2026-01-05

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=comment&pn=1&idx=28461