Investigation of Apple and Alipay Related to KakaoPay
Worldcoin and Temu Investigation Results to Be Announced Soon
The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) stated that it is difficult to respond effectively to deepfake issues under current laws and is considering revising the legislation.
On the 10th, Ko Hak-soo, Chairperson of the PIPC, held a regular briefing at the Government Seoul Office and said, "From the perspective of the Personal Information Protection Act, the deepfake issue fundamentally touches on personal dignity, so it is a matter that requires careful consideration."
Chairperson Ko explained, "Responding to deepfake issues under current laws is not very effective," adding, "We are participating in task force (TF) work with relevant ministries to determine which parts of the law need to be amended."
Regarding allegations of personal information leakage overseas by Kakao Pay, he revealed that investigations are underway into Apple and Alipay. Requests for data submission have been made to Apple headquarters and Apple Korea to examine the data flow among the three companies.
Kakao Pay is suspected of violating the current Personal Information Protection Act by only notifying its privacy policy without obtaining separate consent when transferring customers' personal credit information to Alipay. According to Article 28-8, Paragraph 1 of the Personal Information Protection Act, a personal information handler who intends to transfer personal information overseas must obtain separate consent from the data subject regarding this matter.
Goh Hak-su, Chairperson of the Personal Information Protection Commission, is delivering a greeting at the regular briefing for the press corps held on the afternoon of the 10th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Personal Information Protection Commission]
Chairperson Ko said, "We are examining how payment methods operate within the Apple App Store ecosystem and how personal information flows within it," adding, "We are at the stage of specifying legal issues, including the problem of overseas transfer of personal information."
The PIPC views the possibility of inferring original data as a key variable in determining whether the Personal Information Protection Act has been violated. While Kakao Pay claims that the information provided to Alipay is encrypted and the original data cannot be inferred, financial authorities argue that even the general public can infer the original data. The PIPC explained that it will examine whether the information transferred to Alipay qualifies as personal information under the law and whether appropriate safety measures were taken when transferring the information, focusing on the possibility of inferring the original data.
Regarding Tools for Humanity (TFH), the developer of Worldcoin, which has been investigated for collecting personal information such as iris scans, the PIPC announced that it will soon decide whether to impose sanctions. The PIPC reviewed whether the collection and processing of sensitive information by Worldcoin complied with the Personal Information Protection Act and the process of transferring personal information overseas. The investigation is being finalized, and the related agenda will be submitted soon.
Final investigations are also underway against Temu, a Chinese e-commerce company. Since February, the PIPC has been investigating the actual status of personal information collection and use by AliExpress and Temu. Previously, AliExpress was fined 1.978 billion KRW for violating overseas transfer procedures stipulated in the Personal Information Protection Act. Chairperson Ko added, "Temu was submitted as an agenda item, but there were many opinions that the data was insufficient, so additional data was supplemented," and "We plan to resubmit it as an agenda item soon."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
