Controversy Over User Personal Information Exposure... KakaoMap Sets Favorites Default to 'Private'
[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] As controversy spread over the possibility of identifying some users' personal information through Kakao's map application (app) 'KakaoMap,' Kakao took immediate action.
On the morning of the 15th, Kakao announced that it had completed changing the default setting for creating favorite folders in KakaoMap from 'public' to 'private.'
KakaoMap favorites is a feature that allows users to create and share lists of places they frequently visit or are interested in. When saving favorite places on KakaoMap, users are prompted to enter a folder name, and at this time, the option to set information visibility was obscured by the phone keyboard and the default setting was 'public,' which sparked controversy. For example, it was confirmed that some users had set their favorite lists to be publicly visible, including their residence, their children's schools, popular restaurants, military areas, and even lists of prostitution establishments.
Kakao initially judged that favorite places did not constitute personal information that could identify individuals, so the default setting was public. Kakao explained, "We clearly guide users about this feature when creating favorite folders and allow them to set visibility to public or private. It is a general function (not a violation of the Personal Information Protection Act)." They added, "We have completed changing the default to private and are reviewing if further improvements are needed."
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The Personal Information Protection Commission and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) are verifying whether Kakao has violated the Personal Information Protection Act or other related laws. The Personal Information Protection Commission stated, "We are examining whether there is any issue, and if any illegal matters are found, we will follow the investigation procedures according to the guidelines."
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