Twitch receives fine worth R$1.4 million for breaking Korean law

Twitch is fined more than R$ 1.4 million for violating South Korean telecommunications law by removing the ability to view videos on demand (VODs), with the possibility of more fines in the future as they leave the country.

People have known about Twitch’s shutdown of services for a while, but the government is catching up with the services they’ve shut down over the last year or so and has started fining the company. The first fine is worth more than R$1.4 million, and there may be more to come.

Twitch fined massive amount for withdrawing from South Korea

After stopping the service, Twitch was fined, but not because the entire service was closed.

This is just related to the fact that they prevented users on the South Korea to access VODs on the platform, something seen as a direct violation of South Korea’s telecommunications laws by the Korean Telecommunications Commission (KCC).

According to Yonhap, KCC decided that Twitch ending the ability for users in South Korea to access VODs was not necessary to keep the service alive.

When asked to justify its claims, Twitch refused due to contractual obligations related to keeping user and website data private.

Additionally, Twitch would have to present evidence that its decision to gradually withdraw resources from South Korean users and exit the country was necessary. This means that Twitch probably won’t be providing service to South Korea again anytime soon.