The Broadcast Media Communications Commission (BAMTT) said on June 29 it approved revisions to the enforcement decree of the Information and Communications Network Act and a related public notice to prevent the spread of false and manipulated information and strengthen digital platforms' social responsibility. The approval follows amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act that were revised and promulgated on Jan. 6. The effective date is July 7.

BAMTT held its 20th plenary meeting of 2026 at the government complex in Gwacheon and handled the agenda. After reporting the related items at its seventh plenary meeting on May 8, it collected opinions through legislative and administrative notices and a forum, and supplemented the enforcement decree.

◆ Search and open marketplaces excluded from scope

The scope covers user-to-user information intermediary services such as social networking services (SNS) and online communities. It defines large-scale information and communications service providers as companies with daily average users (DAU) of at least 1,000,000 over the three months immediately preceding the end of the previous year. Those businesses must establish self-regulatory operating policies and publish reports.

The initial draft for the legislative notice included search services and goods and services transaction intermediary and brokerage services (open marketplaces), but they were removed from the final version following recommendations from the Regulatory Reform Committee. The reason given was that it is technically impossible for search services to fulfill obligations to notify posters, and failure to notify could weaken posters' rights and interests. For open marketplaces, the assessment applied was that they are hard to view as a major distribution channel for false and manipulated information and are already governed by existing regulations.

Some within the commission expressed differing views on the exclusion decision. Yoon Sung-ok (윤성옥), a non-standing commissioner, said, "Hate speech and rights-infringing information are being distributed even on platforms with DAU below 1,000,000." She added, "This does not mean Google and Naver do not need to take any action on user reports, and it should be noted that search operators bear legal responsibility as parties responsible for information intermediation and have a duty to swiftly block illegal information."

Lee Sang-geun (이상근), a BAMTT commissioner, pointed to the DAU calculation method, saying it should be clarified whether it is based on hit counts or the number of people who visit in a day to avoid controversy. The secretariat replied it reflected a method that removes duplicates and counts one person as 1.

◆ Criteria set for punitive damages and administrative fines

Those subject to punitive damages are people whose subscriber counts or views exceed certain thresholds. It applies to people who earned revenue by posting illegal or false and manipulated information at least three times over the three months immediately preceding the distribution, and who have at least 100,000 subscribers or an average of at least 100,000 monthly combined views over the prior three months.

A special rule was also introduced requiring disclosure of the fact if a public figure seeks punitive damages and the lawsuit is dismissed. The scope of covered public figures includes candidates under the Public Official Election Act, heads of public institutions, public officials required to disclose assets, public office candidates subject to confirmation hearings, party leaders, heads of media companies, and controlling persons of business groups subject to disclosure or chief executives and largest shareholders of companies belonging to such groups.

The maximum administrative fine is 1 billion won. It applies to businesses that redistribute at least twice information that has been confirmed by a final court ruling as illegal or false and manipulated information, and that earned revenue by posting at least three items over the prior three months. For failure to fulfill information provision obligations, the administrative penalty is 3 million won for a first violation, 6 million won for a second, and 10 million won for a third or subsequent violation.

BAMTT designated the principles code of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) as the public notice standard for fact-checking procedures. The Transparency Center will take on support tasks such as fostering fact-checking groups and personnel.

The enforcement decree approved on June 29 is expected to be promulgated and take effect in early next month after vice-ministerial and Cabinet meetings. The public notice will take effect through publication in the official gazette in July.

BAMTT Chairman Kim Jong-cheol (김종철) said, "These revisions and amendments are to faithfully implement the intent of the revision of the higher-level law, which was prepared to prevent the distribution of illegal and false and manipulated information and provide relief for damage." He added, "We will strive to create an online environment that guarantees freedom of expression online."