Open Net Welcomes the Results of the Facebook-KCC Lawsuit

The Administrative Court has ruled in favor of the Plaintiff in a suit Facebook filed against the Korean Communications Commission. It was a predictable outcome to the first ever attempt worldwide for a government to try to hold content providers responsible for the quality of connection. Holding content providers responsible for the cost and challenge of transmission of information results in infringement of online freedom of speech. Open Net calls on the government to stop such efforts and abolish the use of terminology such as “sender-pay rule”, and “network use fee”.

Content providers can upload contents online anywhere in the world, and anyone can access it through the Internet. This is a core aspect of the Internet. Network operators charge Internet users transit fees and provide access to the Internet in exchange. In the case against Facebook, the KCC tried to hold content providers responsible for the quality of the internet instead of network operators, and was the first in the world to do so[…]

For more information, please read the Korean original here.