SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s liberal-led legislature passed a bill Wednesday that would allow stiff punitive damages to traditional news and internet media outlets that publish “false or fabricated information,” ignoring concerns that the legislation could lead to greater scrutiny.
Journalist groups and civil liberties advocates urged President Lee Jae-myung to veto the bill pushed by Democrats. They said vague wording about what information would be suppressed and a lack of adequate protections for the media could hamper critical coverage of public officials, politicians and big business.
Democrats, who have failed to pass similar legislation in past administrations, say the law is needed to combat the growing threat of fake news and disinformation, which they say undermines democracy by fueling division and hate speech.
The bill would allow courts to award punitive damages of up to five times proven damages to news organizations and large YouTube channels that spread “illegal information or false or fabricated information” to cause harm or seek profit.
The bill also allows for compensation of up to 50 million won ($34,200) for losses that are difficult to quantify in court. The country’s media regulator can fine media outlets up to 1 billion won ($684,000) if they publish information that is confirmed by a court to be false or manipulated more than twice.
The bill passed the National Assembly by a vote of 170 to 3, with four abstentions, after many lawmakers from the main conservative opposition People’s Power party boycotted the vote. The vote was delayed after a 24-hour filibuster by the PPP, during which lawmakers from both parties debated the bill.
People’s Party lawmaker Choi Soo-jin said during the filibuster that the bill failed to define the level of inaccuracy in banned information, warning that it could be broadly applied to content containing minor errors or general claims and be used as a tool to silence critics with the threat of lawsuits.
Democrats argue that punitive damages would apply only where false information was knowingly spread for a clear purpose of harm or profit and caused actual harm, while routine charges or claims would not be punishable.
They noted that the law prohibits damages claims for the purpose of “impeding impartial criticism or oversight in the public interest,” although legal experts and journalist groups have criticized the provision as vague and unrealistic.
“The law targets not (legitimate) criticism but the malicious and deliberate spread of false information,” Democratic Party spokesman Park Soo-hyun said. “(The bill) is based on intent requirements and also exempts satire and parody, clearly distinguishing freedom of speech (which should be respected).”
The National Union of Media Workers has urged the Lee Myung-bak administration and the Democratic Party to address concerns that passing laws regulating false or manipulated information could infringe on free speech and expose media companies to abuse lawsuits, chilling scrutiny from those in power.
“We urge (them) to clearly reiterate that the law will target only a small subset of ‘false or fabricated information’ and to scrutinize the bill to remove any potential infringements on press and freedom of expression,” the group said in a statement. “We call on them to carefully define the scope of the law when drafting its implementing regulations.”