Lawmakers say law could expose U.S. platforms to false-information penalties
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, along with Reps. Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, Darrell Issa of California, and Michael Baumgartner of Washington, sent the letter requesting details about the commission’s enforcement plans. Jordan made the letter public on the social media platform X.
The Korea Media and Communications Commission has said the law is intended to protect people from harm caused by illegal, false and manipulated information. The legislation passed South Korea’s National Assembly on Dec. 24 and took effect July 7.
The Republican lawmakers, however, argued that the law does not provide sufficiently clear standards for determining false information or explain in enough detail how those standards will be enforced. They warned that vague provisions could be used against “politically disfavored opinions” and could have a chilling effect on online expression.
“No foreign government should be able to pressure American companies to censor constitutionally protected speech,” Fitzgerald said, describing the revised law as “vague, expansive, and ripe for abuse.”
The Judiciary Committee also argued that the law could affect U.S.-based platform operators such as Google’s YouTube and their users. The lawmakers said South Korea is following the path of the European Union’s Digital Services Act, noting the committee has previously issued reports arguing that European digital regulation can restrict free expression by Americans and hinder innovation by U.S. companies.
The U.S. State Department has raised concerns since the legislation passed the National Assembly in December, warning that the measure could create unnecessary barriers to digital services.
The latest congressional action builds on months of escalating scrutiny of South Korean regulation of American businesses. Jordan and Fitzgerald issued a subpoena on Feb. 5 to Harold Rogers, Coupang’s chief administrative officer and general counsel, seeking communications between the company and the South Korean government as well as testimony before the committee. The committee said it was investigating whether South Korean laws, regulations and judicial orders discriminate against U.S. companies or infringe on Americans’ due process rights.
Republican committee members cited a Nov. 13, 2025, joint fact sheet issued after a meeting between President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, saying the agreement committed South Korea to ensuring U.S. companies are not treated discriminatorily or subjected to unnecessary barriers in digital services, including regulations governing online platforms.
The committee followed the February subpoena with an interim report on July 1 accusing the South Korean government of discriminatory treatment of Coupang and other American-owned companies and of violating commitments made between the two countries.
According to the Judiciary Committee, South Korean authorities assigned about 400 investigators from 11 agencies to the Coupang customer information case, involving about 150 face-to-face meetings, 200 interviews and more than 1,100 requests for documents and other materials. The committee said a former employee had retained limited, non-sensitive information involving about 3,000 customers and that the information was later recovered. The committee also cited a report that Coupang had announced a compensation package valued at $1.18 billion.
Fitzgerald said Congress would continue examining what he characterized as efforts by foreign governments to export censorship and interfere with Americans’ First Amendment rights.