Platforms scramble to comply as amended law imposes fines up to W1b on profitable fake news

Distributing "fake news" for profit will carry a fine of up to 1 billion won ($643,000) under an amended law taking effect Tuesday. Major domestic platforms including Naver and Kakao have been rushing to establish reporting, removal and blocking standards ahead of enforcement. However, concerns remain that the process of determining what is false could end up suppressing legitimate criticism and public-interest reporting.

The amended Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection takes effect July 7, according to the Broadcasting, Media and Telecommunications Commission and the platform industry. The law strengthens measures against the distribution of illegal and false or manipulated information and bolsters victims' rights.

The revised law tightens liability for those who knowingly distribute false or manipulated information with the intent to harm others or gain unjust profit.

Enhanced damages apply to content creators who posted at least three pieces of content and earned advertising or other revenue in the three months before distributing the information, and who have at least 100,000 subscribers or average at least 100,000 views per month. Where legal requirements such as intent and actual harm are met, victims may seek damages of up to five times the actual loss.

A fine of up to 1 billion won may also be imposed on those who repeatedly distribute — at least twice — content that a court has definitively ruled to be illegal or false or manipulated, while also posting three or more pieces of content for profit during the same period. A mere report or minor factual error alone will not trigger sanctions; authorities must also consider whether the distributor was aware of the false or manipulated nature of the content, whether there was intent to cause harm or gain unjust profit, and whether actual rights violations occurred.

Social media platforms, online communities and video-sharing services with an average of at least 1 million daily users must establish operational policies setting out standards for reporting and handling false or manipulated information.

In response, the Korea Internet Self-governance Organization, or KISO — whose members include Naver, Kakao and AXZ, the operator of the portal Daum — finalized a joint set of guidelines covering the definition of false or manipulated information and the procedures for reporting, assessment, action and appeals.

The guidelines require platforms to consider not only whether information is false or manipulated, but also the distributor's intent and purpose, and whether personal rights, property rights or the public interest have been infringed. Expressions of opinion, satire and parody, minor errors, academic or scientific debate, and clearly fictional creative works are in principle excluded.

When content is determined to be false or manipulated, platforms may take measures including deletion or blocking, restricted exposure, account suspension and monetization limits. Private communications such as KakaoTalk messages, emails and direct messages are excluded from the scope, and organized targeted reporting or repeated baseless reports may be restricted for up to six months.

Controversy is growing over the standards platforms will apply when deciding independently whether to delete or block posts.

Unlike clear-cut cases of manipulation such as deepfakes or content with fabricated captions, posts that mix fact and opinion, political arguments, criticism of public figures, and allegations involving unconfirmed facts are difficult to distinguish from legitimate expression, observers note.

If the standards are applied ambiguously, platforms may preemptively delete or restrict reported posts to avoid legal disputes. Because anyone can file a report, there are also concerns that companies or organizations could exploit the system by mass-reporting posts critical of them, effectively suppressing unfavorable content.