US State Department expresses 'significant concerns' over Korea's 'fake news' law

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The U.S. Department of State expressed “significant concerns” over Korea's recently revised Information and Communications Network Act, commonly known as the “fake news” law, amid worries that the law could restrict free speech and negatively affect American platforms operating here.

“The United States has significant concerns with the ROK government’s approval of an amendment to the Network Act that risks negatively impacting the business of U.S.-based online platforms and undermining free speech,” the department's press office said in response to an inquiry from The Korea Times, referring to Korea by an abbreviation of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

“We expect the ROK to deliver on its commitment to ensuring that U.S. companies are not discriminated against and do not face unnecessary barriers in terms of laws and policies concerning digital services,” it added.

The response came as the “fake news” law came into force on Tuesday to regulate illegal and fabricated information on designated large online platforms — four domestic platforms, Naver, Kakao, Nate and dcinside, and four overseas ones, Google, Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok.

Those platforms are required to operate a reporting and monitoring system to manage and remove unlawful content on their services. Failure to do so may lead to corporate administrative surcharges, and refusal to comply with the government's corrective orders to remove such content can lead to the CEO being personally held liable and prosecuted.

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The U.S. has reiterated its criticism of the law since the revision plan was announced about six months ago.

In December 2025, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers warned that the amendment could undermine tech cooperation.

“South Korea’s proposed amendment to its Network Act, ostensibly focused on redressing defamatory deepfakes, reaches much further — and endangers tech cooperation,” she wrote in a post on X.

“Deepfakes are understandably concerning, but it’s better to give victims civil remedies than give regulators an invasive license for viewpoint-based censorship.”

Defense of Coupang

Concerns are rising that the “fake news” law may become another point of friction between Seoul and Washington following a series of trade and defense issues.

In recent months, Seoul's investigation into e-commerce giant Coupang's massive data leak has drawn sharp criticism from Washington.

Multiple U.S. Republican lawmakers and a U.S. House committee have strongly condemned Korea's investigation and regulatory measures against the U.S.-headquartered company, accusing the Korean government of unfair and discriminatory treatment.

“While South Korea has been targeting American-owned companies for decades, its discriminatory treatment has escalated considerably in recent years,” the U.S. House Judiciary Committee chaired by Jim Jordan wrote in a report released July 1.

“South Korea’s discriminatory treatment of American-owned businesses directly violates its recent trade agreement with the United States,” it added.

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, right, walks toward a meeting room with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in central Seoul, June 2. Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Seoul and Washington have also suffered strains in defense cooperation. The U.S. reportedly stopped the sharing of certain intelligence with Korea in protest of Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's public disclosure of a suspected uranium enrichment site in North Korea, a facility that had not been officially confirmed by government sources.

Security and trade negotiations based on the Joint Fact Sheet announced last November have stalled. Although the two allies held a first round of talks last month to end a six-month gap, no fixed schedule has been set for the next meeting. The agenda primarily revolves around Korea's construction of nuclear-powered submarines, as well as its investments in U.S. industries including shipbuilding.