Rep. Jim Jordan raises alarms over new South Korean fake news law

House Judiciary Committee Republicans sent a letter to the South Korea‘s Media and Communications Commission on Thursday expressing their concern over recently adopted online regulations they say could allow the government to censor free speech and attack opposing viewpoints.

The letter, reported first by CNBC, calls for a briefing from South Korean officials on their plans to enforce an amendment to the country’s existing data privacy law, which took effect in July and has been dubbed the “fake news” law. It allows the government to issue fines to media outlets and content publishers with more than 100,000 subscribers if they intentionally spread false information.

“This amendment serves as a major threat to online speech and expression and would allow the KMCC to punish American companies and their users for exercising their constitutionally protected rights,” the lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote.

Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., also signed the letter.

The South Korean Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The amendment, which was adopted by the Korean National Assembly as part of the country’s Information and Communications Network Act in December, aims to “protect citizens from the harms of illegal and fabricated false information,” according to a July statement from the chairman of the KMCC. 

Publishers who are found to have violated the law could face a penalty of up to 1 billion won, or more than $700,000.

But, according to Jordan and his Judiciary colleagues, the law does not clearly define “false information” and could be used by the government to target “politically disfavored opinions.” It’s also faced opposition from journalists and civil liberties groups in South Korea.

“No foreign government should have the power to pressure American companies into censoring constitutionally protected speech,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. “South Korea’s so-called ‘false information’ law is vague, expansive, and ripe for abuse. Congress will continue examining efforts by foreign governments to export censorship and undermine Americans’ First Amendment freedoms online.”

The lawmakers also said the amendment “is specifically aimed at American companies,” including YouTube, owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The implementation of the amendment and the House Judiciary letter come amid heightened economic tensions between the two key trading partners.

South Korea was one of dozens of countries on which President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs last week over alleged forced labor practices. And the House Judiciary Committee in July released a report alleging discrimination by the South Korean government against Coupang, a U.S.-based online retailer that does the bulk of its business in Asia.

The committee under Jordan’s leadership has devoted significant time to the threat of foreign regulation on censoring free speech and stifling U.S. innovation. The committee has released multiple reports on the European Union’s Digital Services Act, a comprehensive legal framework adopted in 2022 that sets strict rules for online content. That law has resulted in fresh scrutiny for U.S. companies like Google and Anthropic.

According to the letter, the South Korean amendment is directly related to the Digital Services Act.

“South Korea seems to be following in the EU’s footsteps, adopting legislation modeled directly on the DSA,” the lawmakers wrote.