As U.S. tech companies face mounting pressure from overseas digital regulations, federal lawmakers are warning that stringent foreign policies are forcing online platforms to adopt measures that infringe upon Americans' freedom of speech and rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, Just the News reported Monday night.

Congressional investigators have expanded their scope beyond Europe to address the global wave of digital regulation affecting U.S. technology firms. Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Committee released a report citing the South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission’s (PIPC) decision to impose a record-breaking $410 million fine on Coupang, a U.S.-owned Korean company. The report accused the South Korean government of weaponizing digital regulations to disadvantage American businesses. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said in an interview with the "Just the News, No Noise" program on Wednesday, "I think these attacks on American companies we're seeing all over the world are a very serious problem. The Coupang case in Korea is just the latest example, but this has been happening in Europe for a long time as well."

Coupang Sanctions and the Spread of Digital Surveillance

The 35-page report released by the House Judiciary Committee accused South Korea of discriminating against U.S. tech companies regarding the $410 million fine levied by the PIPC against Coupang, often referred to as the "Amazon of Korea." 

According to the PIPC, the action followed a data breach involving up to 37.6 million accounts, which exposed the personal information of more than 70% of the South Korean population. 

However, the House committee argued that South Korea engaged in discrimination, pointing out that this was the largest fine in history, even though other data breaches involving Chinese firms were arguably more severe. The committee also condemned the threat of criminal charges against Coupang’s interim CEO, Harold L. Rogers, who is an American citizen.

A letter sent to the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea in April, signed by 54 Republican lawmakers, stated, "Unfortunately, the South Korean government has recently used a minor data leak from November 2025 as a pretext to launch a full-scale government offensive against Coupang." 

Beyond the Coupang case, the committee report accused South Korea of utilizing digital regulation and competition policies to disadvantage U.S. tech companies, criticizing the country’s digital platform legislation, which purports to be modeled after the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA regulates large tech firms deemed "gatekeepers," with the stated goal of making the digital sector "fairer and more competitive."

The Competere Foundation reported that South Korea's proposed "Online Platform Market Law" and other competition policies, backed by the administration of left-leaning President Lee Jae-myung and led by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), could cause the U.S. to lose $525 billion in economic activity over the next decade. 

Meanwhile, an amendment to South Korea’s "Information and Communications Network Act," which took effect Tuesday, mandates that online platforms and U.S. companies like Google, Meta, and X block "false and manipulated" information, with provisions that could lead to the prosecution of tech CEOs who refuse to comply.

On Thursday, a U.S. State Department spokesperson urged authorities in Seoul to refrain from imposing "disproportionate burdens" on U.S. platforms, excessive content regulation, and the suppression of free speech. 

In an interview with The Korea Times, the State Department's Office of the Spokesperson stated, "The United States expresses serious concern over the South Korean government's approval of amendments to the 'Information and Communications Network Act,' which risk negatively impacting the operations of U.S.-based online platforms and undermining freedom of expression."

This is not the first time the U.S. has voiced concerns regarding this legislation.

Sarah Rogers, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, also noted in a post on X (formerly Twitter) last December that "the amendment to South Korea’s 'Internet Information and Communications Act,' while ostensibly aimed at correcting defamatory deepfakes, is far broader in scope and jeopardizes tech cooperation." Assistant Secretary Rogers visited South Korea last April and conveyed these concerns to Public Diplomacy Minister Lee Sang-woo.

Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA)

South Korea's recent digital policies mirror a trend sweeping across Europe—a matter that has drawn criticism from the U.S. government due to its impact on American tech firms. 

"For tech companies, this is a form of censorship, and limiting what can be expressed in Europe ultimately impacts what we can express here in the United States," Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told Just the News. 

In February 2026, Rep. Jordan released an interim report targeting the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The committee argued that because tech companies maintain uniform global content policies, Europe’s content moderation rules ultimately lead to the suppression of free speech and diverse viewpoints within the United States.

"While often framed under the guise of combating so-called 'hate speech' or 'fake news,' the European Commission has recently sought to censor factual information and political speech on some of the most significant policy debates in history," the report stated, adding that this includes debates over COVID-19, mass immigration, and transgender issues.

Furthermore, as part of a series of investigations into digital censorship, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan issued subpoenas to several tech companies last February. In letters sent to Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Reddit, Rumble, TikTok, and xAI, he demanded the disclosure of communications with foreign governments and evidence of compliance with censorship regulations.

According to the report, following the issuance of the subpoenas, the tech companies submitted thousands of internal documents and records of communications with EU member states and the European Commission. 

A press release accompanying the report stated, "The documents provided to the Committee pursuant to the subpoenas demonstrate that the European Commission has successfully pressured major social media platforms to alter their global content moderation policies, resulting in direct harm to online freedom of speech in the United States."

"The regulations are so severe and the burden so extreme that companies find it difficult to even maintain operations in Europe, so they end up putting pressure on the U.S. instead," Jordan said. "But that is the mindset they have, and it is resulting in attacks on American companies," he added.

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which took effect in 2022, is a comprehensive regulation designed to minimize exposure to "illegal and harmful content," allowing tech companies to quickly remove content reported as misinformation and permitting users to request the removal of content. 

Rep. Jordan's committee noted that under the DSA, Elon Musk’s social media platform 'X' was fined $140 million for regulatory violations. The European Commission cited violations including a lack of advertising transparency, "deceptive" practices regarding the blue checkmark verification system that allowed anyone paying $8 a month to be verified, and restrictions that blocked researchers from using automated tools to collect public data.

Prior to the decision, Vice President JD Vance posted on X, "The EU should support free speech, not attack American companies over trivial matters," criticizing the Commission for punishing X "because it didn't engage in censorship." 

With the EU imposing fines of up to 6% of global revenue on platforms that do not comply with the rules, the Trump administration also launched an offensive against the DSA in August 2025. According to an internal memo obtained by Reuters, the State Department instructed U.S. diplomats in Europe to urge national governments to seek the repeal or amendment of the DSA.

For U.S. lawmakers, the shifting global landscape remains an urgent priority. Chairman Jim Jordan argued that crackdowns by foreign regulators, such as the South Korean government’s recent action against Coupang, combine aggressive enforcement against companies with limitations on freedom of speech. 

"This is a real concern, and it's an issue our committee has been digging deep into from the perspective of censorship, and from the basic attitude of other nations simply trying to pressure American companies," Jordan said. "They can't compete with U.S. companies right now, so they are trying to change the situation," he added.

※ This article is a Korean translation of a report by Just the News.