On February 14, 2024 the Korea Communications Commission announced a proposed amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Telecommunications Business Act (the “Amendment”) which focuses on enhancing the obligation to notify the outage of the value-added telecommunications service. The Amendment has undergone a public hearing during the legislative notice period from February 14 to March 25 and will subsequently undergo review by the Ministry of Government Legislation, the Vice Minister meeting, and the Cabinet meeting before finalization and enactment. Here are the key highlights of the Amendment.
I. HIGHLIGHTS
A. Reduced Exemption for the Notification Requirements
In the event of a service outage, an electronic telecommunications service provider must notify its users, without delay, of the outage, its underlying cause, the progress of its remedial measures, and the contact information for lodging complaints (Article 33(2) of the Telecommunications Business Act, Article 37-12(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act).
Previously, this notification obligation was exempted for any telecommunications services that are provided free of charge (Article 37-12(1)(4) of the Enforcement Decree of the Telecommunications Business Act). But the Amendment removes such exemption for free telecommunications services. The notification obligation was also exempted where the value-added telecommunications service was interrupted by unexpected, unavoidable cause and the interrupted period was less than 4 hours (Article 37-12(1)(5) of the Enforcement Decree). The Amendment reduces this duration threshold from 4 hours to 2 hours.
B. Expanded Notification Channels
Previously, the permitted notification means for the service outage were mainly electronic mail and text messages. Under the Amendment, Social Network Services (SNS) have been added as a permitted means of notifying the users of service outage under ‘any other electronic means to notify users individually’. Furthermore, if such individual notification is not feasible, posting the notice on the access page of relevant internet sites or mobile applications is also allowed (Articles 37-12(3)(3), 37-12(3)(4) of the amended Enforcement Decree).
II. IMPLICATIONS AND PROSPECTS
The Amendment intends to enhance user protection and prevent damages by providing timely notice of service outages, even for free value-added telecommunications services. This Amendment was prompted by the impact of the data center fire in October 2022 which primarily affected free value-added telecommunications services, which are integral to daily life, such as messengers, shopping, and mobility.
When this Amendment comes into effect, the value-added telecommunications service provider will be required to notify users of service outages, lasting more than 2 hours even for free services. We recommend close monitoring on the Korea Communications Commission’s interpretation regarding specific value-added telecommunications services falling under this requirement, potential exemptions and appropriate notification methods.
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