[2022 National Audit] Google Korea President "No Lawsuit Review Yet on 69.2 Billion KRW Fine"

Kim Kyung-hoon, President of Google Korea, "Not Considering Litigation"

On the 14th, Kim Jin-ah, CEO of Meta Korea (left), and Kim Kyung-hoon, President of Google Korea, are listening to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's audit on the Personal Information Protection Commission held by the Political Affairs Committee. (Photo by National Assembly Broadcasting)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Google Korea, which was fined by the Personal Information Protection Commission for collecting personal information without user consent, announced on the 14th that it has no plans to file an administrative lawsuit.

On the same day, Kim Kyunghoon, President of Google Korea, appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee audit and responded to a question about whether they were preparing a lawsuit by saying, "We are not considering litigation."

Earlier, the Personal Information Protection Commission pointed out this issue last month and imposed fines of 69.2 billion KRW on Google and 30.8 billion KRW on Meta, respectively. In addition, it issued corrective orders requiring that users be given easy and clear recognition to obtain consent when collecting and using personal information.

When Democratic Party lawmaker Min Byungdeok and People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Changhyun criticized that the treatment of Korean users differs from that of foreign users, Kim said, "Our actions in Korea are no different from those in the United States. The laws in Europe are different, so it may appear different," and added, "Google complies with Korean laws and obtains consent."

He continued, "We believe that the ads we provide play a significant role in the free-moving internet. Personalized ads are not necessarily bad, and many companies are growing worldwide," he emphasized.

Meta Korea CEO Kim Jina also appeared as a witness on the same day. In response to Yoon's question about whether they would file an administrative lawsuit and the background, she said, "As far as I know, the headquarters has not received an official written resolution regarding this decision. Therefore, I can speak after reviewing the basis for the judgment."

She added, "Meta is doing its best to comply with Korea's Personal Information Protection Act, but we regret that this (fine) decision was made," and emphasized, "Additionally, we provide various control tools that allow users to select and manage their personal information even after signing up."

There were also allegations that Meta recently tried to change regulations to prohibit Facebook use if users did not consent to personal information collection.

When asked whether the regulation change was withdrawn due to user opposition, Kim explained, "Rather than users opposing, it was an attempt to explain better so that users could understand more easily," but added, "Since there was controversy over the possibility of misunderstanding, we decided to withdraw it after consultation with the Personal Information Protection Commission."

In July, Meta informed Facebook and Instagram users that "You must agree to the update on personal information collection and use after August 9, 2022, to use your account." However, due to strong user backlash and the Personal Information Protection Commission's investigation into the matter, Meta eventually withdrew the related policy.

Regarding criticisms that the anonymous-based social media 'Ask' encourages cyber school violence and that Instagram has become a hotbed for child and adolescent sexual exploitation material, Kim said, "We are making multifaceted efforts such as launching the 'Family Center' to ensure that youth personal information is used safely, and we have already taken technical measures regarding sexual exploitation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.