U.S. Republican lawmakers, who have consistently and openly sided with Coupang, have now sent a letter to the South Korean government protesting the recently revised Information and Communications Network Act.
They argue that the law targets American companies such as YouTube and Facebook.
Reporter Lee Kyung-ah reports.
[Reporter]
This is a letter sent by Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, to Kim Jong-cheol, chair of the Korea Communications and Media Commission.
The letter argues that the Information and Communications Network Act, revised last month, “could have a chilling effect on freedom of speech and expression online.”
It also claims that “the scope of the law is vague and could be used to censor political opinions.”
The central complaint is that the law could subject American companies such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram to penalties.
The Republican lawmakers argued that the legislation targets U.S. companies, emphasizing that “no foreign government has the authority to pressure American companies into censoring speech protected by the Constitution.”
They also noted that the law was modeled on the European Union’s Digital Services Act, adding that “South Korea appears to be following the EU’s path.”
The amended Information and Communications Network Act, passed by the National Assembly last December, requires major platform operators to remove and block false or manipulated information and imposes penalties for noncompliance.
After the U.S. State Department criticized the law from the time of its passage as creating “unnecessary barriers to digital services,” Republican lawmakers have now joined in pressuring the South Korean government.
Last month, the House Judiciary Committee released a report alleging that the South Korean government has discriminated against American companies, including Coupang, and violated the U.S.–South Korea trade agreement.
The figures who led that report are the same Republican Judiciary Committee members—including Chairman Jim Jordan—who spearheaded this latest protest letter.
Following the Coupang dispute, the U.S. government and Republican lawmakers have now expanded their campaign to challenge South Korea’s platform regulation policies, making it unlikely that the growing trade tensions between the two countries will find a breakthrough anytime soon.
Posted by Freewhale98
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1. Summary
U.S. House judiciary committee led by U.S. congressman Jim Jordan accused Korea of cracking down on “free speech” and “targeting U.S, Big Tech”. These Republican lawmakers received money from Coupang.
2. How is this related to the sub
(1) Free Speech debate: Korea’s Online anti-disinformation act based EU DSA faces criticism from Americans for “violating free speech”.
(2) Growing anti-Korean sentiment in D.C. : More and more American officials grow hostile to Korea over Coupang crisis.
(3) Coupang crisis: Coupang, U.S. e-commerce giant, poisoned the public opinion against Korea.
(4) Lobbying practice: Korean journalists accuse American officials of receiving bribes from Coupang to enact anti-Korean policy citing money received and Coupang stock owned by prominent politicians like Donald J. Trump and Warsh. Americans rebut that it is merely normal lobbying practice.
3. My opinion
Coupang crisis continues to inflame anti-Korean sentiment in the U.S. The cultural misunderstanding over lobbying and free speech debates only amplified the deterioration of the U.S.-Korea relation.
Koreans view this incident as corrupt officials taking bribe from a criminal company and doing shady behavior. Americans believe Koreans are going after “free speech” by cracking down on their tech companies criticizing their cherished lobbying tradition.