Korean authorities accuse TikTok of violating communications and privacy laws

Korean authorities are cracking down on TikTok for the potential violation of regulations related to personal data and telecommunications, according to industry officials Monday.

Short-form video platform TIkTok is owned by China's ByteDance. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Korean authorities are cracking down on TikTok for the potential violation of regulations related to personal data and telecommunications, according to industry officials Monday.

The Korea Communications Commission has accused the Chinese-owned, short-form video platform of violating regulations related to information communication networks and is set to initiate an investigation.

TikTok mandates new users to receive optimized advertisement and marketing materials without giving them an option to refuse.

According to Article 50 of Korea's Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization, it is mandatory to obtain prior consent before sending users advertising information for profit.

"The commission will look into TikTok's terms and conditions as well as its app to see if there are problems related to carrying out explicit consent," an official from the Korea Communications Commission said Monday.

The commission is said to have commenced the investigation recently.

If TikTok is seen to have made the violation, it could face a fine of up to 30 million won ($22,287).

TikTok logo [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) is also looking into whether the Chinese-owned video platform has violated regulations on personal data.

"We are seeing whether TikTok violated regulations separately from what is in the Korea Communication Commission's case," an official from the information protection commission said.

"We cannot say further details, as the case is ongoing at the moment."

TikTok and its lighter version, TikTok Lite, are suspected of violating Article 22 of Personal Information Protection Act, which is related to methods of collecting personal data and consent.

The two platforms are suspected of not clearly presenting their policies on handling personal data before obtaining users' content, with the terms not being explicitly posted on their websites.

TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, has a relatively weak position in Korea's social media market but has been rolling out an aggressive marketing strategy to gain more users.

TikTok Lite, a lighter version targeted toward users who only consume content instead of uploading it, logged 4.6 million monthly active users in Korea in August, since launching in December 2023. The figure is close to the monthly active users of the full version of TikTok, 4.7 million in the same month.

Korean authorities have been closing in on Chinese companies in Korea in regard to how they handle personal data.

The PIPC recently slapped AliExpress, a Chinese e-commerce operator, with a 2 billion won fine for breaching personal data regulations. The commission said AliExpress violated procedures set by the Personal Information Protection Act related to transferring personal information abroad.

It was the first time a penalty had been imposed by the Korean government on a business for not following the procedures.

"TikTok takes a local approach when it comes to compliance with the laws of South Korea for both TikTok and TikTok Lite, and we will also cooperate with government requests," TikTok's Korean operation said in a statement Monday.

"Our practices are guided by the requirements under the PIPA, and we will review these practices as necessary in line with recent amendments to the PIPA as well as guidance published by the PIPC."

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]