Tech Giants Including Google,โค Meta Face Scrutiny Overโ Data Protection โPortrayalโฃ in Korea
SEOUL, January 25, 2024 โข – google,โ Meta, Microsoft, and โฃOpenAI are among 16 overseas โคcompanies that have beenโฃ directed by South Korea’s Personal Details Protection Commitee (PIPC) to โrevise how theyโฃ designate domestic representatives for data protectionโฃ purposes, according toโค an announcement today. The move comes ahead of revisions toโค the Personal Informationโ Protection Actโฃ taking effect February โฃ2nd.
The PIPC โคdiscovered these โcompanies had appointed โขa โคseparate legal entity or corporation as their domestic agent, rather than utilizing their established Korean subsidiaries, despite having a โขpresence in theโค country. Other companies identified include paypal, roblox, Supercell, Zoom, Agoda, Booking.com, Intel, Line, Roboโ Rock, Shuin, Salesforce, and Sporty Pie.
The upcoming amendment to โthe Personal Information Protection โคAct mandates that โฃoverseas operators designate a corporation as a domestic agent if theyโ have โฃestablished a Koreanโฃ corporation, wiht theโข headquarters responsible forโค management and oversight. โขThis designation must be completed within โsix months of the law’s implementation, โฃand non-compliance may result inโฃ fines. โThe system aims to streamline the handling of complaints related to personal โinformation processing and provide avenues for redress.
Previously, companies like Ali Express, Taemu, airbnb, BYD, and Oracle โคwere already designating their Korean subsidiariesโ as domestic agents, adhering to the spirit of the new โคlaw.
“We will guide these operators to change theโข designation of โdomestic agents and check the results ofโฃ the action,” statedโฃ a PIPC official. The โcommittee also plans โขto increase public awareness regarding its guidance for overseas operators without a domestic address or sales office, emphasizing the importance โฃof protecting theโ rights of โขKorean users when addressing complaints or damages.