Twitch fined over $300k for breaking law in South Korea

Twitch is being fined over $300k for violating South Korean telecom law by removing the ability to view VODs, with the possibility of more fines down the road as they exit the country.

Twitch is a global platform with a presence across a wide range of cultures and languages around the world, but keeping the platform alive and compliant with regional laws is certainly a challenge.

For example, Twitch was banned in Turkey alongside Kick due to people gambling on stream. In some regions, support for Twitch’s streaming services can cease out of nowhere.

South Korea, however, is a unique case. People have known about Twitch’s services ceasing for a while now, but the government is catching up with the services they’ve disabled over the past year or so and are beginning to hit the company with fines. The first one is worth over $300k USD, and there may be more to come.

Twitch being hit with massive fine for pulling out of South Korea

In the wake of them ceasing service, Twitch has been fined for 435 million Korean won – but not for the entire service being terminated. This is related only to them making it so users in South Korea can’t access VODs on the platform, something seen as a direct violation of South Korea’s telecom laws by Korea’s Telecommunications Commission (KCC).

According to Yonhap, the KCC made the decision that Twitch terminating the ability for users in South Korea to access VODs wasn’t necessary to keep the service alive. When asked to justify their claims, Twitch declined due to contractual obligations related to keeping user and site data private.

Additionally, Twitch would have to present evidence that their decision to gradually take features away from South Korean users & leave the country was necessary. This means that Twitch isn’t likely to return service to South Korea any time soon.

There’s also a good chance Twitch will be forced to provide refunds for those who have been affected by the service being discontinued, with the KCC warning Twitch that they need to prepare “user protection measures” as they cease service in the country.

While big international broadcasts like the LCK (League of Legends Championship Korea) and other big esports events taking place in the country will remain on Twitch, local live streamers are out of luck.