Amended internet law takes effect amid free speech concerns

An amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection — widely dubbed the "fake news eradication law" — took effect Tuesday, reigniting debate over its potential chilling effect on free expression. Critics say the law's definition of false and manipulated information remains unclear, raising concerns about inconsistent enforcement.

Under the amended act and its implementing decree, false and manipulated information as well as hate and discriminatory content are classified as illegal, and distributing such material can trigger punitive damages of up to five times the actual harm. Social media posts and online news articles are both covered.

Large platforms with an average daily user base of at least 1 million — including Naver and YouTube — are required to set up reporting channels for illegal and false information, and will be empowered to delete or block content, restrict its exposure, or suspend accounts.

The amended law is seen as giving institutional backing to the government's hard-line stance against the spread of false information. Legislative efforts to regulate misinformation have accelerated under the current administration. A separate amendment to the same act, introduced by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Hun-gi on June 4, designates as illegal hate content targeting victims and bereaved families of historical events such as the May 18 pro-democracy movement — content commonly found on online communities like Ilbe — and establishes grounds for criminal punishment.

Critics, however, warn of significant side effects, arguing the law will suppress free speech and effectively muzzle the press.

Opposition spread online ahead of the law's implementation. A petition calling for the amended act to be withdrawn was filed on the National Assembly's public consent petition site on May 26 and has since gathered more than 140,000 signatures. The petition has been referred to the Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.

Civil society groups and the journalism community have also voiced criticism. People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy said the law "prohibits the distribution of information on the abstract and vague grounds of harm to the public interest, and grants sweeping authority to platform companies, creating a risk of private censorship." It added that "above all, there are concerns that including news reporting within the scope of regulation will weaken the press's role in holding power to account."

The Korean Federation of Press Unions and other groups issued a joint statement opposing the amendment, warning that it "grants punitive damages powers against the press to politicians, public officials, and large corporations who already pressure media outlets with lawsuits worth hundreds of millions of won."

The Korean National Police Agency has also launched a task force to crack down on the spread of false information, conducting investigations into misinformation that could undermine public order. The task force announced Monday that it had arrested 29 people on charges of spreading false information related to three cases — a shortage of ballots during the June 3 local elections, the cancellation of performance bonuses at Samsung Electronics and SK hynix under a proposed semiconductor excess-profit sharing scheme, and crude oil supply disruptions linked to the Middle East war — and had referred 15 of them to prosecutors.

Police are currently applying Article 84-2 of the Framework Act on Telecommunications, among other provisions, to investigate cases involving the spread of false information. That provision penalizes the use of telecommunications to deceive others for financial gain or to cause harm to third parties. The amended internet law itself does not include separate criminal penalty provisions. A police official said that in line with the law's implementation, guidelines had been distributed to frontline units so they could direct complainants to the appropriate relief procedures when related reports come in.

The central question in false-information investigations is how to strike the right balance between protecting free speech and combating misinformation. A police official said it is the job of investigators "to prove that the false information was spread with malicious intent and goes beyond the bounds of free expression," adding that such cases are "tricky because they touch on the domain of free speech." The official added that misinformation related to government policy "often has no individual victim, unlike crimes targeting a specific person," and that investigators are "comprehensively reviewing whether the false information obstructed government operations or caused any harm to public functions."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party said it would file a constitutional complaint against the amended law. The party also announced it would pursue a legislative revision as a party platform, pledging a full review of the relevant provisions.