By Bahk Eun-ji
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Thursday it will visit Google's headquarters in California to confirm whether the company followed an order to delete all personal data gathered through street imaging.
An official of the KCC said it plans to visit the headquarters next month; however, details are still under discussion.
The decision came after the KCC fined Google 212 million won at the end of January for gathering personal data. The company was found to have collected 600,000 pieces of sensitive personal data including passwords, e-mail addresses and Internet usage history for eight months from October 2009.
The company has said it was a part of its project to map Wi-Fi networks while preparing its "Street View" service.
The company collected the data through camera-equipped vehicles, taking pictures of streets to publish on the web for the street view service.
KCC conducted a document investigation of Google from April to December last year.
It is the first time that a regulator will visit the headquarters of a multinational company to check if it followed the order or not.
"This was the first time for the authority to levy a fine on an international firm for violating the Information Telecommunication Law, so it is naturally the first time for us to check directly on its headquarters," said a deputy manager of KCC.
According to the law, those who collect private information illegally can be fined up to 1 percent of revenue generated from its use.
The deputy manager said the visit is a follow-up measure and the KCC is in talks with Google for the visit.
"The purpose of the visit is to check if the company deleted the personal data collected illegally, and we are going to take further legal action if Google didn't follow the order," said the official.
In response, Google said it is willing to work with the KCC.
"We are fully cooperating with the KCC throughout its investigation," Google Korea spokeswoman Lois Kim said.
The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said Thursday it will visit Google's headquarters in California to confirm whether the company followed an order to delete all personal data gathered through street imaging.
An official of the KCC said it plans to visit the headquarters next month; however, details are still under discussion.
The decision came after the KCC fined Google 212 million won at the end of January for gathering personal data. The company was found to have collected 600,000 pieces of sensitive personal data including passwords, e-mail addresses and Internet usage history for eight months from October 2009.
The company has said it was a part of its project to map Wi-Fi networks while preparing its "Street View" service.
The company collected the data through camera-equipped vehicles, taking pictures of streets to publish on the web for the street view service.
KCC conducted a document investigation of Google from April to December last year.
It is the first time that a regulator will visit the headquarters of a multinational company to check if it followed the order or not.
"This was the first time for the authority to levy a fine on an international firm for violating the Information Telecommunication Law, so it is naturally the first time for us to check directly on its headquarters," said a deputy manager of KCC.
According to the law, those who collect private information illegally can be fined up to 1 percent of revenue generated from its use.
The deputy manager said the visit is a follow-up measure and the KCC is in talks with Google for the visit.
"The purpose of the visit is to check if the company deleted the personal data collected illegally, and we are going to take further legal action if Google didn't follow the order," said the official.
In response, Google said it is willing to work with the KCC.
"We are fully cooperating with the KCC throughout its investigation," Google Korea spokeswoman Lois Kim said.
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