On the 24th, the Seoul City government announced that it will issue a "consumer damage warning" to prevent the spread of damage to consumers as the number of cases related to YouTube paid subscriptions (account sharing) has increased recently.
YouTube account sharing has spread as Google raised the price of its ad-free video viewing paid service last year. Users who have signed up for a family plan available only in certain countries through virtual private networks (VPNs) can save about 4,000 to 5,000 won per person per month by gathering other subscribers online.
However, there have been cases where users who gathered subscribers received a year's worth of fees upfront and then disappeared. According to the Seoul City Electronic Commerce Center, there have been 97 reported cases of related damages from January to June 18 of this year. The major platforms where damage has concentrated include ShareJS (31 cases) and SafeShare (10 cases). Many damaged users reported suffering from account suspensions within 1 to 4 weeks after purchasing a one-year subscription.
Earlier, in February of last year, the Seoul City government issued a consumer damage warning and took measures to halt related sales on major open markets due to similar damages occurring. However, it is said that transactions continue through peer-to-peer transaction platforms, Naver Café, and Kakao Talk open chats.
The Seoul City Electronic Commerce Center stated that the YouTube account sharing service used in the country could be suspended at any time and warned users to be cautious. This service is not offered in Korea, so Google may suspend it for reasons such as violation of usage policies.
Kim Myung-sun, the head of the Fair Economic Department of Seoul, said, "Using account sharing privileges bypassing services that are not officially provided domestically violates corporate policies and terms of service, and damages can occur at any time," adding, "While strengthening monitoring to prevent similar damages from recurring is necessary, it is also essential to create an environment where domestic consumers can choose from various pricing plans."