[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] TikTok, the Chinese application facing global controversy over security issues such as personal information leaks, including in the United States, has also been penalized domestically.
Broadcasting and Communications Commission Warns "TikTok is a Problematic Operator"
On the 15th, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) held a plenary meeting and imposed a fine of 180 million KRW and a penalty of 6 million KRW on TikTok for violating the Information and Communications Network Act.
TikTok is a social networking service (SNS) based on short 15-second videos. It is popular in Korea, with an average of 1.4 million daily users, but suspicions of personal information leaks have persisted.
Earlier, the KCC detected the possibility of personal information leaks from TikTok and began an investigation in October last year by requesting cybersecurity threat-related materials from TikTok’s local Singapore subsidiary (refer to our December 30, 2019, front page).
The KCC confirmed violations including "collecting personal information of children under 14 without legal guardian consent (Article 31, Paragraph 1 of the Information and Communications Network Act)" and "failure to notify domestic users of overseas transfer of personal information (Article 63, Paragraph 2 of the Information and Communications Network Act)" based on the investigation results.
According to the KCC, TikTok collected at least 6,007 cases of personal information from children under 14 without the consent of their legal guardians registered on the service. Additionally, TikTok stored domestic users’ personal information in the United States, Singapore, and other locations but did not inform users about the "act of transferring information overseas," which violates the Information and Communications Network Act.
At the meeting, KCC Chairman Han Sang-hyuk stated, "TikTok is a problematic operator," and urged, "Please pay attention and check the implementation of corrective measures." Standing Commissioner Ahn Hyung-hwan also emphasized, "Continuous monitoring of TikTok is necessary even after corrective actions," and added, "We must be vigilant about security concerns related to TikTok and work to resolve them."
Accused of Sharing Information with the Chinese Communist Party? Controversy Abroad as Well
Overseas, TikTok’s personal information collection issues remain a hot topic. Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned, "If you want your personal information to go to the Chinese Communist Party, use TikTok." The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also imposed a fine of $5.7 million (approximately 680 million KRW) on TikTok for illegal collection of children’s personal information.
The Indian government banned the use of 59 Chinese smartphone apps, including TikTok, on the 29th of last month. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology explained, "Chinese apps violated India’s sovereignty, security, and public order," and "there have been multiple complaints about unauthorized transmission of user information to servers outside India."
Meanwhile, TikTok has denied allegations of providing information to the Chinese government. TikTok stated, "We adhere to strict standards for user personal information security and will make every effort to continuously improve and strengthen these standards," and added, "We will actively comply with the KCC’s corrective measures."
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