By Lee Min-hyung
The nation’s media regulation watchdog pledged Tuesday to launch an intensive investigation into an ongoing legal battle between Google and six activists who have urged the Internet giant to disclose the details of a suspected data leak.
“We are continuing to contact Google headquarters to get deeper into the high-profile case, and will take administrative measures against those responsible for the controversy,” said an official at the Korea Communications Commission (KCC).
The legal showdown started in 2014 when the activists filed a lawsuit against Google and Google Korea, calling for them to unveil their suspected involvement in leaking users’ private information to third parties including the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).
This is the first time the KCC hinted that it will directly get involved in the years-long legal fight.
Google Korea is in an awkward position unable to access the personal data, as it is only involved in domestic marketing, and the U.S. head office holds the right to control private user information, according to the KCC.
The court dispute is expected to continue for a while, given the case needs assistance from the head office which complies with the U.S. legal system.
“Civic groups want to know details over whether the company leaked data to third parties in the U.S., but their request can only be accepted in accordance with U.S. law,” said the official.
Google Korea said it will fully cooperate with the watchdog’s investigation.
The company statement said, “We respect and comply fully with Korean law, and we’ve done (and continue to do) our best to respond in full to the questions raised in this suit through the proper legal channels.”
But the company did not specify more by saying, “We just can’t discuss further the details of this ongoing legal matter.”
Last October, the Seoul Central District Court ruled Google should provide the plaintiffs with the data that the company has shared with third parties. But the court rejected their claim of 3 million won in damages, citing no property or psychological damage inflicted due to the case.
Both parties appealed to the court decision, and the second trial has yet to be finalized.
The KCC said in a recent statement, “We are in a fact-checking process over the case and will continue to review legal details over the first trial.”
At the moment, the regulation body said it won’t take another independent legal measure over the same case, but pledged to conduct a detailed investigation after taking into careful account the ongoing second trial.
It remains to be seen whether the KCC will impose any legal punishment over the case, due to the complexity of jurisdiction between the two countries.
But in 2014, the watchdog fined the Internet company 212.3 million won ($183,900) over collecting user information to launch its Street View navigation service. Google was accused of illegally compiling private Wi-Fi network data between 2009 and 2011.