KCC Issues Guidelines on Anti-Disinformation Law, Emphasizing 'No Government Censorship'

The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has begun a series of efforts to explain its new regulations, including the distribution of guidelines and appearances on policy promotion programs, to address concerns over potential government censorship and misunderstandings regarding the scope of the revised Information and Communications Network Act. The law was recently amended to address online disinformation.

The KCC repeatedly emphasized that the new system is not intended for the government to directly judge disinformation or regulate the expression of ordinary citizens. Instead, it is designed to counter the malicious, profit-driven dissemination of disinformation based on the autonomous operations of large-scale platforms and private fact-checking systems.

The KCC announced on July 8 that it had produced and distributed the "Guidelines on the Information and Communications Network Act for the Prevention of Illegal and Disinformation Distribution" regarding the revised law.

The guidelines serve as an explanatory document to help understand the revised law and related regulations that took effect the previous day. They include criteria for large-scale information and communications service providers, compliance requirements, procedures for seeking remedies for damages caused by disinformation, and details on sanctions such as fines.

Specifically, the document covers the establishment of autonomous operating policies by large-scale platforms, reporting and action procedures, obligations to prepare transparency reports, procedures for user reporting, dispute mediation, and claims for damages, as well as the fine system for repeat offenders.

The KCC expects these guidelines to be used as a standard to reduce confusion in legal interpretation and to support businesses in establishing autonomous and responsible operating systems.

Ryu Shin-hwan, a non-standing commissioner, also appeared on the Blue House's online policy promotion program, "Fact Mill," to address concerns surrounding the revised law.

"This is not a system where the government directly judges or censors disinformation, and disinformation is not subject to administrative review by the Korea Communications Standards Commission," Ryu said. "The core is for large-scale platforms to respond based on their own operating policies and private fact-checking systems."

He further stated, "This system targets malicious, profit-driven posters who repeatedly disseminate disinformation to generate revenue."

"Punitive damages apply only to profit-driven posters of a certain scale or larger, and platforms are not subject to them," he explained. "Private conversations between individuals, such as on KakaoTalk or Telegram, are also not subject to these rules; only public open chat rooms where an unspecified number of people participate can be subject to them."

He added, "Fines are also applied only in exceptional cases where someone knowingly and repeatedly disseminates content that has been confirmed as disinformation by a court ruling to generate profit. It is safe to say that ordinary citizens will not be fined for posting content in their daily lives."

The KCC plans to support the stable implementation of the system by revitalizing the private fact-checking ecosystem, expanding media education, and disclosing cases of legal application in the future.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.