The U.S. government has publicly criticized South Korea’s Online Anti-Disinformation Act, an amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection that recently passed the National Assembly, warning that it effectively grants censorship powers to authorities and could threaten technological cooperation. The concern appears to stem from provisions that directly target U.S. Big Tech platforms such as X, Meta, and Google.
On the 30th (local time), Sarah Rogers, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, wrote on X that “while Korea’s proposed amendment to the Telecommunications Network Act ostensibly aims to provide remedies for defamatory deepfakes, it goes far beyond that scope and threatens technology cooperation.” She added, “Deepfakes are obviously a serious concern, but providing civil remedies for victims is preferable to censorship based on the perspective of regulators.”
The amended law designates “large-scale information and communications service providers” based on user numbers and revenue, and imposes obligations that go beyond simple content removal when reports of false or manipulated information are received. These include restrictions on advertising revenue and account suspensions designed to block monetization. The amendment also requires large platforms to publish transparency reports. The United States appears to view this legislation as directly targeting U.S. Big Tech firms such as Google, Meta, and X.
Recently, the U.S. has criticized the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which allows fines of up to 6% of global revenue if major platforms like X, Meta, or Google fail to meet systemic obligations to control illegal content, hate speech, and disinformation. The U.S. even went so far as to ban entry to former EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who led the DSA’s development.
Korea’s Online Anti-Disinformation Act similarly strengthens oversight of global Big Tech companies by separately designating them as large-scale service providers and expanding their management responsibilities. In this respect, the Korean law aligns with the EU’s regulatory trajectory under the DSA, which mandates systemic risk assessments, mitigation measures, regular transparency reports, and algorithmic and governance obligations to prevent the spread of illegal content.
The Joint Fact Sheet issued following last month’s Korea–U.S. summit includes a pledge that “U.S. companies will not face discrimination or unnecessary barriers in digital service–related laws and policies.” The United States may invoke this clause to raise the issue as a trade concern.
Posted by Freewhale98
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South Korea’s newly passed Online Anti-Disinformation Act represents move toward EU Digital Services Act (DSA)–style regulation of Big Tech, imposing systemic obligations on large online platforms such as transparency reporting, monetization restrictions, and heightened responsibility for controlling false or manipulated information.
While Seoul presents the law as a response to deepfakes and democratic harm from online misinformation, the United States has publicly criticized it as granting de facto “censorship” powers to regulators and threatening technological cooperation, arguing that it disproportionately burdens U.S. platforms like Google, Meta, and X. As a result, what began as a domestic digital governance measure has escalated into a trade and diplomatic dispute, with Washington signaling that the law could violate commitments to avoid discriminatory or unnecessary barriers to U.S. digital firms.
This dispute shows a fracturing global trade and governance system, in which the United States increasingly treats the protection of its Big Tech firms as a core trade priority, intervening against international efforts to regulate digital platforms.
The US under Trump is constantly trying to meddle in the affairs of other countries. Whatever happened to America first?