A South Korean parliamentary committee earlier this month voted to amend its Telecommunications Business Act, a key step toward banning Google and Apple from forcibly charging software developers commissions on in-app purchases. If passed, it would be the first such curb by a major economy.

Apple and Google resisted, with Apple saying the bill "will put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, [and] make it difficult to manage their purchases."

The move is referred to as the "anti-Google law," and it points to the globalization of government anti-trust pressure against the digital mega-platforms, now being applied in the European Union, U.S., China and now South Korea. In this case, the stakes are the 30% commission that Google and Apple charge in their app stores, which must be used by any vendor using the Apple or Google Chrome/Android platforms.

The legislation also raises interesting foreign policy issues because the U.S. usually opposes foreign laws that discriminate against American firms, even if that action conflicts with domestic policy agendas, according to the New York Times. President Joe Biden, though, has signaled he wants a consistent approach when it comes to the tech giants.

While former President Donald Trump attacked a liability shield for social media platforms, known as Section 230, his trade representative wrote a similar provision into agreements with Canada, Mexico and Japan.

Wendy Cutler, a former official who negotiated the trade agreement between South Korea and the United States, said it would be difficult for the U.S. to argue that the Korean rules violate trade agreements when the same antitrust issues are being debated stateside.

So the U.S. is caught between creating momentum around furthering anti-trust action against the tech giants and reflexively protecting American companies in disputes with foreign countries. This is more so given that the mega-platforms are by their nature international.

The digital antitrust era has just begun, and it will likely take decades for decisions to be legislated and implemented.

Isaac Cheifetz is a Twin Cities executive recruiter and strategic résumé consultant. Reach him through his website, catalytic1.com.