"Online Gag Order" vs. "Regulation of Fake News"... Political Tensions Rise

[Anchor]

The People Power Party has labeled the revised Information and Communications Network Act, which takes effect tomorrow, July 7, as an "online gag order" that infringes on freedom of expression, and has demanded its revision. The Democratic Party, however, argues that it is a "targeted regulation" designed to filter out only malicious fake news, drawing a line against any revisions.

Ha Jeongyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The leadership of the People Power Party attended today's Supreme Council meeting wearing black masks.

This was a protest against the revised Information and Communications Network Act set to take effect tomorrow. The People Power Party defined the law as a "gag order" that infringes upon the freedom of expression not only for traditional media but also for YouTubers and the general public.

[Jang Dong-hyuk / Representative of the People Power Party: If you cover the eyes, block the ears, and even gag the mouths of the people, the end result will be the completion of Lee Jae-myung's dictatorship.]

The party demanded a suspension of the law's enforcement and the removal of toxic provisions, arguing that the concept of false and manipulated information is ambiguous, prone to arbitrary interpretation, and will stifle freedom of expression through self-censorship.

[Chung Jeom-sik / Floor Leader of the People Power Party: Platforms will engage in prior censorship while being wary of those in power, and users will be trapped in self-censorship out of fear of lawsuits and complaints.]

The Democratic Party countered that the People Power Party is unnecessarily stoking anxiety, asserting that the bill is a "targeted regulation" that filters out only malicious fake news and hate speech, rather than preventing legitimate criticism of power.

[Kim Hyun / Member of the Democratic Party: This law is intended to strike down acts of continuously and repeatedly spreading false and manipulated information with the intent to cause harm to others for the purpose of pursuing economic gain.]

Kim Jong-cheol, Chairman of the Broadcasting, Media, and Communications Committee, also refuted the claims, stating that the targets of the regulation are those who maliciously post false and manipulated information for economic purposes, and that calling it a "gag order" is excessive political agitation.

A petition calling for the withdrawal of the Information and Communications Network Act, posted on the National Assembly's public petition site last May, garnered over 140,000 signatures in just one month and was referred to the relevant standing committee on July 3.

While the People Power Party is strongly demanding a revision, the Democratic Party is drawing a line, stating that it makes no sense to discuss revisions before the law has even been implemented.

(Video reporting: Lee Seung-hwan and Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Lee So-young | Graphics: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.