Gyeonggi-do: "10 out of 33 Platform Companies Inadequate in Personal Data Protection"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A survey revealed that one out of three online platform companies has insufficient measures to protect members' personal information.

Gyeonggi Province disclosed on the 27th the results of a personal information processing method survey conducted from May to August on 33 major online platforms, including 10 overseas and 23 domestic companies in portals, social networking services (SNS), delivery, and accommodation sectors.

The survey found that 10 companies made it impossible to sign up for membership unless users agreed to the use of personal information for advertising and marketing, or required blanket consent without obtaining individual consent for each item.

Additionally, it was found that companies did not distinguish between mandatory and optional items when collecting personal information, demanded consent indiscriminately, or provided vague notifications about third-party related matters without clear disclosure.

The Personal Information Protection Act stipulates that consent from the information subject must be obtained separately for each item rather than blanket consent (implied consent), that consent items must be clearly explained so the information subject can understand them, and that service provision cannot be refused if consent is not given.

Gyeonggi Province plans to request improvements from the platform companies where issues were identified and also intends to deliver the survey results to the Personal Information Protection Commission.

Meanwhile, in a 'Personal Information Protection Awareness Survey' conducted on 1,000 residents alongside the survey, 85% of respondents answered that the personal information entered during membership registration has "monetary value."

This was interpreted as respondents perceiving the provision of personal information as a price paid for using services such as search, email, and SNS.

Also, 72% of respondents expressed negative views on platform companies providing users' personal information to third parties such as advertisers, citing concerns about personal information leakage and privacy invasion.

Kim Ji-ye, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Fair Trade Bureau, emphasized, "We will conduct regular surveys targeting platform companies to ensure that personal information is not leaked or misused."