방송통신위원회. (사진=연합뉴스)

 

[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] The Korea Communications Commission has imposed a correction order, a fine of 435 million won and a fine of 15 million won on the game streaming platform Twitch.

The Korea Communications Commission held a general meeting at the Gwacheon Government Complex on the 23rd and voted like this after listening to Twitch's statement. Twitch limited domestic users' viewing quality from 1080p (FHD) to 720p (HD) in September 2022, stopped VOD viewing service on December 13 of the same year, and VOD generation service on February 7, 2023.

The Korea Communications Commission found it difficult to regard the measure to restrict image quality as a violation of the law, but saw the suspension of the provision of VOD services as a violation of the Telecommunications Business Act that significantly harmed user interests, and that it was also illegal for Twitch not to establish a non-style identification system to prevent distribution such as illegal filming.

Twitch explained that live streaming and VOD services were only some functions, not an independent telecommunication service, and that the function was small, and that it was an inevitable business decision made to continue to provide services in Korea, but the KCC did not accept the request.

The KCC requested related data on the cost of network use to review whether there was a legitimate reason for limiting Twitch's maximum viewing quality during the investigation process, but also pointed out that Twitch did not submit objectively reliable data, citing the obligation of confidentiality under the contract with ISP.

The KCC required to announce for four days that Twitch had received a correction order on the first screen of the online web and mobile app within a month, and to submit a plan to implement corrective measures within 10 days.

In addition, as the domestic project ends during the implementation of the correction order, it was ordered that there will be no inconvenience when refunding paid goods, using civil service windows, and transferring to other platforms, and that the final settlement amount of the streamer can be paid well.

 

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