INCOMPAS, whose members include Netflix, Google, and Amazon, said South Korea's proposed mandated network use fees are targeted to U.S. streamers and would create barriers to both consumer choice and content provider market access.

That is according to a new report from INCOMPAS in conjunction with the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) on the interconnection fees South Korea is considering requiring Netflix and other streamers to pay ISPs there.

Netflix last year sued SK Broadband over exacting such a fee but lost in a Korean court.

Also: INCOMPAS Tells FCC That Interconnections Need Government Minding

Now the South Korean government is considering making such "network use" fees obligatory for larger players, like Netflix.

"The latest legislative proposals would set a dangerous precedent by imposing disruptive and unwarranted taxes on the delivery of online content, which would ultimately raise costs for end users and CPs [content providers], and disincentivize the innovation that has underpinned the growth and socio-economic benefits of the internet-driven economy in Korea and around the globe," the report said.

INCOMPAS said streamers already represent a key part of the online value chain and that such fees would give ISPs "disproportionate and unjustified leverage to extract payments" from content providers. It said the proposed fees ignore the fact that content providers invest heavily on infrastructure -- cables, data centers, caches -- that reduce the traffic "burden" on ISPs.

"End users pay ISPs for an internet connection with the expectation that it will allow them to reach all legal content available on the internet, without discrimination based on whether CPs have paid 'network use fees' or not," the report said. "CPs do not 'push' traffic at ISP customers. Rather, the end users request that content enabled by CPs be delivered to them by their ISP. Similarly, CPs also do not 'use' ISPs' last-mile broadband networks; end users do, and they pay for that network usage. Mandating 'network use fees' would therefore lead to ISPs double charging by assessing CPs for services for which end users have already paid."

The report alleges a mandatory fee would incentivize ISPs to allow traffic congestion or even purposely limit performance.

It would also be a double tax, said the report: "End users pay ISPs for an internet connection with the expectation that it will allow them to reach all legal content available on the internet, without discrimination based on whether CPs have paid 'network use fees' or not. ... Mandating 'network use fees' would therefore lead to ISPs double charging by assessing CPs for services for which end users have already paid." 

Netflix is pushing back on demands from Korean ISP SK Broadband that the streaming company compensate the telecom for network upgrades caused by the popularity for local shows, including the recent Korean-language global hit Squid Game.

"Squid Game is just the beginning. We appreciate what Koreans have long understood," wrote Dean Garfield, VP of global public policy, in a company blog post published Sunday. 

"There is so much more where this story came from. But, unfortunately we have come to a crossroads--Red Light, Green Light--where internet gatekeepers could get to decide if the next great Korean story can be watched, and loved, by the world," added Garfield, riffing on the macabre version of a popular kids game seen in Episode 1 of Squid Game.

Also read: Netflix Gets Congratulated by Jeff Bezos as Global 'Squid Game' Phenomena Goes Next Level

Prior to the emergence of Squid Game, a local court already ruled in June that Netflix owes SK Broadband for additional traffic drawn to its networks by other local Netflix hits, such as 2020 military-themed drama D.P. The assessment for Netflix's liability was valued at $23 million. 

 “Netflix is at least receiving network services, including management of the network quality, at a cost," the court said, according to the Korea Herald. 

“This decision clearly confirms by law that Netflix needs to pay network usage fees to SK Broadband,” the internet service provider added. 

The debut of the Korean-language series Squid Game--Netflix's most watched show ever after 28 days on the platform--only further highlights the issue, SK Broadband has contended. 

Sensing a bad precedent, Netflix is pushing back. The streaming company earns 15% of its APAC region revenue in Korea. Paying additional fees for broadband would consume 6% of what it makes in the country. 

Citing its cooperative "Open Connect" initiative with local ISPs, Garfield wrote that Netflix is "doing our part to ensure Netflix isn’t a burden on Korean broadband companies. 

"Working with companies like Samsung and Cisco in the Alliance for Open Media, we built a content delivery network called Open Connect, which we offer free-of-charge to internet service providers around the world," Garfield added. "It enables Netflix content to be stored as close to our members as possible, and avoids clogging up the internet. The overwhelming majority of our ISP partners around the world use Open Connect, because why wouldn’t they? We deliver it to them for free. It’s proven to reduce at least 95% of network traffic, leaving lots of room for other content to go through. It saves cost. And most importantly, consumers are able to enjoy a high-speed, high-quality Netflix experience. In 2020 that cost saving was estimated to be $1.2B. Unfortunately, while more than a thousand ISPs around the world recognize these benefits, one of the largest internet companies in Korea is turning a blind eye. Why? Because by making both consumers, and content providers pay, they can get paid twice. Red Light, Green Light. "

Multiple World Cup and Olympic gold medal-winning skier Tina Maze will be the official face of Eurosport winter sports and Olympic Games coverage as the network moves closer to the Pyeongchang Games in 2018.

Eurosport parent Discovery Communications purchased the rights last year to the Olympic Games from 2018 to 2024. Its first broadcast will be the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeonchang, South Korea.

Maze, an Olympic gold medal and World Cup champion skier joins other top winter sports athletes on the Eurosport team including triple Olympic gold medallist biathlete Michael Greis and Polish ski legend Adam Malysz. Maze had earlier announced her retirement from the sport after a 17-year career. She is set to officially bow out of competitive racing at January’s Alpine Skiing World Cup event in her home town of Maribor, Slovenia.

Maze will draw on her experience to conduct pre- and post-race interviews with athletes and provide on-the-ground tactical and strategic analysis throughout the course of the season.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Eurosport family and am grateful to be given the opportunity to continue my career within the sport I love,” Maze said in a statement. “Nothing will replace the adrenalin rush of competing at an Olympic Games or World Cup event, but this is a new chapter in my life, one I am excited about, and I hope to give fans a different perspective of the action during competition time.”

In June 2015, Discovery Communications and the International Olympic Committee signed an agreement that will give Eurosport exclusive television and multi-platform broadcast for 50 countries and territories in Europe for the next four Olympic Games, including the Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

“At Eurosport, we pride ourselves on being the home of winter sports, presenting every World Cup and World Championship in every major winter discipline,” Eurosport CEO Peter Hutton said in a statement. “Adding Tina to our team of experts will give fans a first-hand insight into skiing at the very top level. “Tina is an important signing for us as we build towards the Olympic Winter Games. She is a unique character who is never afraid to share an opinion and I speak on behalf of everyone at Eurosport when I say we are all looking forward to working with her in the coming months and years.”

Kicking off with the FIS Alpine World Cup in Soelden on Oct. 22,Eurosport will broadcast more than 800 hours of live and delayed coverage between October and April with every alpine skiing, biathlon and ski jumping World Cup stage shown live or delayed on its channels. In total, 11 World Championships across all major winter sports will be covered on Eurosport this season. Eurosport will supplement action on the piste with Wintersports Extra, a magazine show broadcast every weekend and re-capping all of the best action from winter sports across the world as well as showcasing the all of the drama from the world of figure skating, curling and speed skating over the course of the next six months.

Tina Maze Career Highlights: Olympic Gold Medal, Sochi 2014, Downhill; Olympic Gold Medal, Sochi 2014, Giant Slalom; 2013 World Cup title; World Championship Gold Medal, Beaver Creek 2015, Combined; World Championship Gold Medal, Beaver Creek 2015, Downhill; World Championship Gold Medal, Schladming 2013, Super-G; World Championship Gold Medal, Garmisch 2011, Giant Slalom; Olympic Silver Medal, Vancouver 2010, Super-G; Olympic Silver Medal, Vancouver 2010, Giant Slalom; 26 World Cu