By Kim Tae-jong
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Tuesday it will fine Google 212 million won ($196,938) for illegally gathering personal data through street imaging technology.
This is the first time for the regulator to impose a fine on an international company for violating the Information Telecommunication Law.
The decision came after Google was found to have collected about 600,000 pieces of sensitive personal data including passwords, e-mail addresses and Internet usage history for eight months from October, 2009, as part of its project to map Wi-Fi networks while preparing its "Street View" service.
The illegal collection was done through camera-equipped vehicles, which took pictures of every street to publish on the web.
According to related laws, those who illegally collect private information can face a fine up to 1 percent of their revenue. However, the KCC said it had decided "to impose a 10 percent higher fine on Google than the legal limit of 193 million won."
The commission said there is a growing demand for heavy penalties for illegally collecting personal information, as the nation recovers from the shock of a recent massive leak of date on 20 million people from three major credit card firms.
"It is time to give a warning against practices involving the illegal handling of private information," Kim Choong-sik, vice-chairman of KCC, said, citing the recent leak during a news conference. "Google is no exception for this, and we think the 10 percent additional fine is necessary."
About 20 regulators in different countries investigated Google on similar charges, but the Korean authorities' fine is the highest except for Belgium regulators, who imposed a fine of 218 million won.
Along with fine, the regulator also order Google to delete all data it "illegally" collected and post KCC's decision on its website.
In a statement to The Korea Times, Google said that it is working hard to get privacy right and has worked closely with the commission and tightened up its systems to address the issue.
"We are sorry for having mistakenly collected data from unencrypted networks," Google Korea spokeswoman Lois Kim said.
"Since we announced our mistake in 2010, we have worked closely with the Korean Communications Commission and tightened up our systems to address the issue. The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it."
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Tuesday it will fine Google 212 million won ($196,938) for illegally gathering personal data through street imaging technology.
This is the first time for the regulator to impose a fine on an international company for violating the Information Telecommunication Law.
The decision came after Google was found to have collected about 600,000 pieces of sensitive personal data including passwords, e-mail addresses and Internet usage history for eight months from October, 2009, as part of its project to map Wi-Fi networks while preparing its "Street View" service.
The illegal collection was done through camera-equipped vehicles, which took pictures of every street to publish on the web.
According to related laws, those who illegally collect private information can face a fine up to 1 percent of their revenue. However, the KCC said it had decided "to impose a 10 percent higher fine on Google than the legal limit of 193 million won."
The commission said there is a growing demand for heavy penalties for illegally collecting personal information, as the nation recovers from the shock of a recent massive leak of date on 20 million people from three major credit card firms.
"It is time to give a warning against practices involving the illegal handling of private information," Kim Choong-sik, vice-chairman of KCC, said, citing the recent leak during a news conference. "Google is no exception for this, and we think the 10 percent additional fine is necessary."
About 20 regulators in different countries investigated Google on similar charges, but the Korean authorities' fine is the highest except for Belgium regulators, who imposed a fine of 218 million won.
Along with fine, the regulator also order Google to delete all data it "illegally" collected and post KCC's decision on its website.
In a statement to The Korea Times, Google said that it is working hard to get privacy right and has worked closely with the commission and tightened up its systems to address the issue.
"We are sorry for having mistakenly collected data from unencrypted networks," Google Korea spokeswoman Lois Kim said.
"Since we announced our mistake in 2010, we have worked closely with the Korean Communications Commission and tightened up our systems to address the issue. The project leaders never wanted this data, and didn't use it or even look at it."
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